I WAS IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY

Revelation 1:9-20

9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering

And kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus,

Was on the island of Patmos

Because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

10 ON THE LORD'S DAY I WAS IN THE SPIRIT,

And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

11 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.'

12 I turned around to see the voice

That was speaking to me.

And when I turned I saw Seven Golden Lampstands,

13 And among the Lampstands

WAS SOMEONE 'LIKE THE SON OF MAN,'

Dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet

And with a Golden Sash around His chest.

14 His head and hair were white like wool,

As white as snow,

And His eyes were like Blazing Fire.

15 His feet were like Bronze glowing in a furnace,

And His Voice was like the sound of Rushing Waters.

16 In His right hand he held Seven Stars,

And out of His mouth came a Sharp Double-edged Sword.

His Face was like the Sun Shining in all its Brilliance.

17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.

Then He placed His right hand on me and said:

'Do not be afraid.

I AM THE FIRST AND THE LAST.

18 I AM THE LIVING ONE;

I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!

And I hold the Keys of Death and Hades.

19 Write, therefore, what you have seen,

WHAT IS NOW AND WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE LATER.

20 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.'

(Revelation 1:1-20)

Christ Jesus reveals this Great Revelation to the apostle John.

John, a companion in suffering with all the Church of Christ.

The Church which is part of God's Kingdom;

Those, who with Patient Endurance

Live for Christ in a Wicked World.

John was a Prisoner on the island of Patmos

Because he defended the Word of God

And testified for Jesus.

There are always consequences for standing for Christ,

In a World controlled by the Devil.

On the Lord's Day, John was in the Spirit;

Caught-up in the Spirit,

So that the natural world around him disappeared.

In this state he hears behind him

A loud voice like a trumpet,

Which told him to write letters to Seven Shurches.

When he turned around to see who was speaking to him,

He sees Seven Golden Lampstands

And among the lampstands is someone

who looked in form like a normal man.

However, he was supernatural in every other respect.

He had a Robe that reached down to His feet

And a Golden Sash around His chest,

Speaking of His Kingship.

His head and hair were white,

Speaking of the holiness of God.

And His eyes were like blazing fire,

The all consuming fire of God;

All seeing and meaning certain Judgment for Sin.

His feet were like Bronze glowing in a Furnace,

Speaking of His ultimate power and authority.

His Voice was like the sound of Rushing Waters,

Like the sound of the River of LIFE

That flows continually from the Throne of God;

Like the sound of standing near Niagara Falls.

Christ Jesus holds His Church leaders in His right hand

From which no one can remove them.

Out of His mouth comes a Sharp Double-edged Sword,

Speaking of the absolute Truth of the Word of God.

His Face was like the Sun Shining in all its Brilliance;

Speaking of the absolute Holiness of God.

When John sees the risen Christ,

He falls to the ground as though dead;

The manifest presence of God is overwhelming,

Rendering him powerless.

No one can stand in His Presence, unless He allows it.

Christ Jesus stabilizes John

By placing his right hand on him

And tells John not to be afraid.

Christ Jesus tells John

That He is the First and the Last,

The Self-Existent One, the Eternal One,

With no beginning and no end.

He says that He is the Living One,

The One from whom all LIFE emanates.

He died for the sins of all mankind but is now alive forever.

Christ Jesus holds the keys of Death and Hades;

He determines who lives and who dies,

Who goes to heaven and who goes to Hell,

Based on His all knowing, perfect love;

Who desires that every person choose the LIFE He offers.

John is told to write down what he has seen,

What is currently taking place, and what will take place later.

Christ Jesus tells John that the Seven Stars

Are the “angels,” or leaders of the Seven Churches,

And the Seven Lampstands are the Seven Churches.