Alexander MacLaren :: The King of Glory and Lord of the Churches (Revelation 1:9-20)

The King of Glory and Lord of the Churches

'I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Alia; unto Ephesus, and Into Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes wore as a flame of fire; 15. And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. 16. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two- edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid HIS right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear act; I am the first and the last: 18. I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. — Revelation 1:9-20.

In this passage we have the seer and his commission (vs. 9-11); the vision of the glorified Christ (vs. 12-16); His words of comfort, self- revelation, and command (vs. 17-20).

1. The writer does not call himself an apostle, but a brother and sharer in the common good of Christiania He does not speak as an apostle, whose function was to witness to the past earthly history of the Lord, but as a prophet, whose message was as to the future.

   The true rendering of verse 9 (R.V.) brings all three words, 'tribulation,' 'kingdom,' and 'patience' into the same relation to 'in Jesus.' Sharing in afflictions which flow from union to Him is the condition of partaking in His kingdom; and tribulation leads to the throne, when it is borne with the brave patience which not only endures, but, in spite of sorrows, goes right onwards, and which is ours if we are in Christ.

   Commentators tell us that John was banished to Patmos, an insignificant rock off the Asiatic coast, under Domitian, and returned to Ephesus in the reign of Nerva (A.D. 96). No wonder that all through the book we hear the sound of the seal It was common for the Romans to dispose of criminals in that fashion, and, clearly, John was shut up in Patmos as a criminal. 'For the word of God,and the testimony of Jesus,' cannot fairly bear any other meaning than that he was sent there as punishment for bearing witness to Jesus. Observe the use of 'witness' or testimony, as connecting the Apocalypse with the Gospel and Epistles of John.

   In his rocky solitude the Apostle was 'in the Spirit,' — by which is, of course, not meant the condition in which every Christian should ever be, but such a state of elevated consciousness and communion as Paul was in when he was caught up to the heavens. No doubt John had been meditating on the unforgotten events of that long-past day of resurrection, which he was observing in his islet by solitary worship, as he had often observed it with his brethren in Ephesus; and his devout thoughts made him the more capable of supernatural communications. Whether the name of the first day of the week as 'the Lord's Day' originated with this passage, or had already become common, is uncertain. But, at all events, it was plainly regarded as the day for Christian worship. Solitary souls, far away from the gatherings of Christ's people, may still draw near to Him; and if they turn thought and love towards Him, they will be lifted above this gross earth, and hear that great voice speaking to them, which rose above the dash of waves, and thrilled the inward ear of the lonely exile. That voice, penetrating and clear like a trumpet, gave him his charge, and woke his expectation of visions to follow.

   We cannot enter on any consideration of the churches enumerated, or the reasons for their selection. Suffice it to note that their number suggests their representative character, and that what is said to them is meant for all churches in all ages.

2. The fuller consideration of the emblem of the candlesticks will come presently, but we have reverently to gaze upon the glorious figure which flashed on John's sight as he turned to see who spoke to him there in his loneliness. His first glimpse told him that it was 'one like to the Son of man'; for it can scarcely be supposed that the absence of the definite article in the Greek obliges us to think that all that John meant to say was that the form was manlike. Surely it was a more blessed resemblance than that vague one which struck on his heart. It was He Himself 'with His human air,' 'standing there in the blaze of celestial light. What a rush of memories, what a rapture of awe and surprise would flood his soul, as that truth broke on him! The differences between the form seen and that remembered were startling, indeed, but likeness persisted through them all. Nor is it inexplicable that, when he had taken in all the features of the vision, he should have fallen as one dead; for the truest love would feel awe at the reappearance of the dearest invested with heavenly radiance.

   The elements of the description are symbolical, and, in most instances, drawn from the Old Testament. The long robe, girdled high up with a golden girdle, seems to express at once kingly and priestly dignity.

   Girded loins meant work. This girdled breast meant royal repose and priestly calm. The whiteness of the hair (comp. Daniel 7:9) may indicate, as in Daniel, length of days; but more probably it expresses 'the transfiguration in light of the glorified person of the Redeemer' (Trench). The flaming eyes are the symbol of His all-seeing wrath against evil, and the feet of burning brass symbolise the exalted Christ's power to tread clown His enemies and consume them. His voice was as the sound of many waters, like the billows that broke on Patmos, whereby is symbolized the majesty of His utterance of power, whether for rebuke or encouragement, but mainly for the former.

   Flashing in His hand were seven stars. The seer does not stop to tell us how they were disposed there, nor how one hand could grasp them all; but that right hand can and does. What this point of the vision means we shall see presently.

   The terrible power of the exalted Christ's word to destroy His foes is expressed by that symbol of the two-edged sword from His mouth, which, like so many prophetic symbols, is grotesque if pictured, but sublime when spoken. The face Blazed with dazzling brightness unbearable as the splendours of that southern sun which poured its rays on the flashing waters round John's rocky prison.

   Is this tremendous figure like the Christ on whose bosom John had leaned? Yes; for one chief purpose of this book is to make us feel that the exalted Jesus is the same in all essentials as the lowly Jesus. The heart that Beats beneath the golden girdle is the same that melted with pity and overflowed with love here. The hands that bear the seven stars are those that were pierced with nails. The eyes that flash fire are those that dropped tears at a grave and over Jerusalem. The lips from which issues the sharp sword are the same which said, 'I will give you rest.' He has carried all His love, His gentleness, His sympathy, into the blaze of Deity, and in His glory is still our brother.

3. His gracious words to John tell us this and more. Soothingly He laid the hand with the stars in it on the terrified Apostle, and gentle words, which he had heard Him say many a time on earth, came soothingly from the mouth from which the sword proceeded. How the calming graciousness rises into majesty! 'I am the first and the last.' That is a Divine prerogative (Isaiah 44:6). The glorified Christ ·claims to have been before all creatures, and to be the end to which all tend.

   Verse 18 should be more closely connected with the preceding than in Authorised Version. The son-tence runs on unbroken, 'and the Living one,' which is equivalent to the claim to possess life in Himself (John 5:26), on which follows in majestic continuity, 'and I became dead' — pointing to the mystery of the Lord of life entering into the conditions of humanity, and stooping to taste of death — 'and, behold, I am alive for evermore' — the transient eclipse of the grave is followed by glorious life for ever — 'and I have the keys of death and of Hades' — having authority over that dark prison-house, and opening and shutting its gates as I will.

   Mark how, in these solemn words, the threefold state of the eternal Word is set forth, in His pre-incarnate fulness of Divine life, in His submission to death, in His resurrection, and in His ascended glory, asLord of life and death, and of all worlds. Does our faith grasp all these? We shall never understand His life and death on earth, unless we see before them the eternal dwelling of the Word with God, and after them the exaltation of His manhood to the throne of the universe.

   The charge to the Apostle, which follows on this transcendent revelation, has two parts — the command to write his visions, and the explanation of the symbols of the stars and the candlesticks. As to the former, we need only note that it extends to the whole book, and that the three divisions of 'what thou seest,' 'the things which are,' and ' the things which shall be hereafter,' may refer, respectively, to the vision in this chapter, the letters to the seven churches, and the subsequent prophetic part of the book.

   As to the explanation of the symbols, stars are always, in Scripture, emblems of authority, and here they are dearly so. But there is great difference of opinion as to the meaning of the 'angels,' which are variously taken as being guardian angels of each church, or the presiding officers of these, or ideal figures representing each church in its collective aspect. It is impossible to enter on the discussion of these views here, and we can only say that, in our judgment, the opinion that the angels are the bishops of the churches is the most probable. If so, the fact that they are addressed as representing the churches, responsible for and sharing in their spiritual condition, suggests very solemn thoughts as to the weight laid on every one who sustains an analogous position, and the inseparable connection between the spiritual condition of pastor and people.

   The seven candlesticks are the seven churches. The formal unity of the ancient church, represented by the one candlestick with its seven branches, is exchanged for the real unity which arises from the presence of Christ in the midst. The old candlestick is at the bottom of the Mediterranean. The unity of the Church does not depend on compression into one organisation, but on all its parts being clustered around Jesus.

   The emblem of the candlestick, or lamp-holder, may suggest lessons as to the Church's function. Each church should be light. That light must be derived. There is only one unkindled and unfed light — that of Jesus Christ. Of the rest of us it has to be said, 'He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.' Each church should be, as it were, a clustered light, like those rings of iron, pierced with many little holes, from each of which a tiny jet of gas comes, which, running all together, make one steady lustre. So we should each be content to blend our little twinkle in the common light.