John Sees Seven Golden Candlesticks (Churches)
February 8, 2022
Commentary
We find John exiled on the isle of Patmos because of his faithful proclamation of the Word of God and his testimony for Jesus Christ (v.9). Patmos was a small rocky island in the Aegean Sea about 50 miles southwest of the city of Ephesus. John was exiled to Patmos because he refused to stop preaching the Gospel. Under the control of the Holy Spirit, on the Lord’s Day, He had a vision revealed to him which he wrote down (v. 10). He was projected forward in this vision to that future day of the Lord when God will pour out His judgment on the earth.
Hearing a loud voice John turned to see seven golden candlesticks (individual lamp stands). These seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia (v. 11). The voice he heard was that of Christ who was walking in the midst of these candlesticks (vv. 12-13). His clothing is that of a priest and judge and shows His authority. John’s head is referred to as white as wool or snow (v. 14). This may refer to the wisdom of age and the purity of holiness. His feet were like brass which may indicate the trials he has experienced in life (v. 15). The seven stars in His right hand are securely under His control and are identified as messengers to the seven churches (candlesticks). (v. 16). Christ’s overall appearance was such that it overwhelmed John.
Application
I probably won’t face persecution for my faith as John did in his day but, even with the freedom I have to share my faith, I must continually ask Christ for the courage to share it.
Revelation 1:9– 16 (NET)
9 I, John, your brother and the one who shares with you in the persecution, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony about Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day when I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 saying: “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, and when I did so, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt around his chest. 14 His head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His face shone like the sun shining at full strength.
Illustration: Young Jimmy Irwin Walks on The Moon
It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. When Mom glanced at the clock she said “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed. Go up now and I’ll come and tuck you in later.” An hour or so later his mother came up to check, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. “What are you doing, Jimmy?” “I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.” “Well, it’s time to go to bed now.” As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.” Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon’s surface. (Bill Hybels, IVP Magazine, 1987, p. 35).