Revelation chapter one explained

This is an in depth explanation of the contents of Revelation chapter one. Watch this video and read the exposition after it.

Table of Contents

• Revelation Chapter 1 Video explanation
• Revelation Chapter 1
• Revelation 1:1-3 – Introduction
• Keys to interpreting this Book
• Which interpretation?
• Multiple fulfilments
• Revelation…Today
• When was Revelation written?
• The Plot of the Book
• The True Church of Jesus Christ and the saints revealed in this book
• Relationship of Jesus with God revealed
• Revelation 1:4-8: Greetings and Doxology
• Revelation 1:12-20 – Vision of Jesus Christ
  • Appearance of Jesus
  • Who then did Daniel see?
  • Jesus as the First and Last who died
  • Vision of Jesus Christ explained
• Revelation 1:20 – The true church as the Golden Lampstands
  • Golden Lampstand as the 7 branched Menorah:
  • The menorah as the true Church of Christ:
  • The Structure of the True Church revealed in the Menorah:

Revelation Chapter 1 Video explanation

Revelation Chapter 1

Revelation 1:1-3 – Introduction

“1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” 

The title of this book is ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ.’ To the first and early second century Christian community, many of them Jews, who first received this book of prophecy, it was ‘A new Revelation’ of Jesus they knew and of his kingdom, which is even more glorious than the Jesus of Nazareth of the gospels and the apostolic epistles. They had never seen any book like this before since Daniel wrote his prophecy. The genre was different from every other Christian material including the gospels, letters and expositions which now make up our New Testament. This book was apocalyptic and requires a thorough reading and study for one to grasp as much as he could. It continued to be a new and even disputed revelation to the early church until it was fully accepted in the 4th century as authentic and part of the cannon. This acceptance of the book meant that for the first time, many Christians would come to learn of the millennial reign of Christ on earth and even more specific details about the dragon, the beast and the false prophets – all of which make up the anti-Christian system they had to be wary of. Those who read and believed it appeared to be the only Christians in those early days that had an idea of Christ’s future millennial reign on earth. There has been always a distinction between Christians who read this book and those who do not up till this day. Those who read it tend to have an activist, protestant and alert mindset towards any Christian and religious system they perceive to be false while those who care less about the book tend to be more ecumenical.

This book, above all things, must reveal Jesus to anyone who reads it in a way that no other book of the Bible can. This book has a lot to say about our Lord Jesus Christ, not just Jesus but the real Jesus. Little wonder it is called ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ Revelation 1:1.

There is going to be a false Christ and a false anti-Christian system that is diabolic. This book reveals the true Jesus Christ and the true Church and also unmasks the deceptive false and anti-Christian system for everything that it is: evil. This book is about the ultimate triumph of Christ over sin and death in the world, righteousness over evil. Christians who do not read this book prayerfully to understand it tend to be very ecumenical: that is, they seek for unity among every organization that calls on any name that sounds like the real Christ. Many of them may not gain the insight or spiritual aid from this book to enable them to identify the anti-Christian system. It is almost impossible for one to be able to unmask these wolves in sheep’s clothing without being acquainted with the instructions in this book of Revelation. Paul, after he warned of those that preached ‘another (false) Jesus (2Corinthians 11:4), went on to warn that “14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, -disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” 2Corinthians 11:14,15. But those who by the grace of God, read and understand at least the simplest message of this book see in their heart, a burning desire to remain separate from the world and to know the real Jesus. Revelation 18:4.

The book of Revelation or The Apocalypse as some prefer to call it, is a book of prophecy given to the servants of Jesus Christ or the saints, that is the global community of believers that make up the true Church of Christ. All the occurrence of the word ‘servants’ denotes that these are true Christians and also the prophets of old: Revelation 1:1; 7:3; 10:7; 11:18; 15:3; 19:2; 19:5; 22:3; 22:6.

One would think that the right title for this book ought to be something like the book of Mysteries. But Revelation or Apocalypse connotes the unveiling of something that was hidden. God is simply trying to reveal the true Jesus Christ in contrast to the false Christ to anyone who reads this book prayerfully. This is why the title is the Revelation of Jesus Christ! Don’t ever assume you already know who or what the false and antichrist is, read this book to know! Almost 2.5 billion people identify as Christians yet there is a real Jesus Christ waiting to be discovered by those who read this book. Read this book to be able to know the true Christ in contrast to the false or antichrist system.

The man John, the apostle.

Although this book was written for Christians, it was John the apostle who received it on their behalf. This makes John a representative of the Christians in this regard. John was certainly the very last apostle to die as Christ hinted to him (John 21:22). He died around 100AD. He is also most likely the very first apostle to be called as we can deduct from John 1:35-37. So, this John was most likely the first and the last which makes him a type of Jesus Christ Revelation 2:8. He saw it all from the beginning to the end of the apostolic era and was the favoured person to deliver this book to us. The choice of choosing John for this special task is very befitting considering the special relationship he had with Christ. But before then, the name ‘John’ or Yochanan in Hebrew means ‘Yahweh is Gracious’ or ‘Graced by Yahweh’ or the one whom God has shown His grace. This is exactly what the true Church of Christ is. Grace and Peace come from God through Jesus Christ. No member of this true church is saved outside of this amazing grace. John and James were identified as the sons of Zebedee, they were two out of the three closest disciples to Christ. Peter is the other one.

Who was their mother? Most probably Salome. While Jesus was dying and as he hung on that stake of crucifixion, we read in Matthew 27:56 that the 3 women who were together were: “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” The name of the mother of James and John was not given but in John’s account, we read: “but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” John 19:25. Is this Mary the wife of Clopas same as the mother of James and John? If So, since this Mary is also the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, then it follows that James and John were actually cousins of our Lord, hence the very close relationship he had with them. But we can’t be sure of this assertion.

Another parallel account in Mark 15:40 maintained that there were other two Mary’s (obviously apart from our Lord’s mother): “There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.” A literal reading of this text appears to say that Salome was the daughter of this Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses. There is a church tradition and a lot of conjectures that supports this. But the other alternative which is also perhaps the most widely held view is that this Salome is the mother of James and John while John’s Mary the wife of Clopas is same as Mary the mother of James and Joses. This is also supported by Eusebius. This also means that John in his gospel did not report the presence of his own mother who stood by Mary the mother of Jesus, but he wrote of the other women that were present. Why? Why did John decide not to tell us that his mother was there too? We may never know the exact reason why Jesus had such a strong relationship with John but we know that the relationship was extended to Jesus and John’s mother. To show the special love Christ had for John, he was on the point of death when he committed Mary his mother to the care of John and we read that Mary the mother of Jesus lived with John until she died. John 19:26,27.

Apart from the alleged family ties Jesus may have had with John, from reading the Gospel and letters of this man John, we know that he had an excellent understanding of the Gospel of Grace and Love that Jesus preached. He was a man of good character and temperament. He was referred to as the Disciple Jesus loved (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7.20), a trait he shared with the prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:23; 10:11.19), making him the right vessel for the delivering of this Revelation which is nothing but the continuation of Daniel’s visions. Jesus indeed loved him. He was the last apostle to die. He lived so long that the rumour went abroad that he wouldn’t die until Christ appears the second time. “20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So, the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” 24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.” John 21.

John as the representative of this true Church of Jesus Christ and the saints is described as the servant of Christ and the one who ‘bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ Revelation 1:2. As we progress in our study, you will soon notice that the book of Revelation was not written to every church or anyone who identifies as Christians but to only those Christians and Christian churches qualified to be described as Witnesses to the word of God. You may be shocked to find out that many of the Christian church systems, across all ages to the end, who claim to be Christian are actually depicted as the enemies of Jesus Christ who deserve to be judged and who will eventually be destroyed by Christ.

Keys to interpreting this Book

1. It was primarily written to Christians which means that it is not a prophecy that speaks of general world events but those which affect the people of God.
2. It is a book of prophecy or ‘things which must soon take place.’ Revelation 1:1,19 shows us that the prophecy in the book is the future from the time of John.
3. It is a book of Signs: Revelation 1:1 says God made it known… This can also be translated as God signified it. Sign there can mean wonder or potent. This book is filled with such wonders and it is not to be taken literally but we must seek to interpret it accurately in light with other revealed scriptures with respect to the times.

Just a caution and an important note: A lot of divine messages are hidden in this singular book and it is best you read it yourself, comparing scripture with scripture to decipher some of the symbols. This book is only an attempt by myself to pen down some of my discoveries from the book and I pray that as you study this book of Revelation, the Lord will open your eyes to its truths.

Which interpretation?

Over the centuries, people have attempted to interpret this book in several ways. I am convinced that the primary biblical approach to this book of prophecy is the Biblical Continuous Historic approach. This is the method employed by the prophet Daniel and the angel of God in interpreting the apocalypse of Daniel which is only a predecessor to this book of Revelation. In interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel told the king: “38…you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.” Daniel 2. This is a continuous historic approach starting from Babylon. The visions and dreams in the rest of the book of Daniel were interpreted in a similar pattern and it is only wise that we follow this approach in interpreting the book of Revelation. I used the phrase ‘Biblical Continuous Historic’ to show that this does not necessarily mean one event must follow the other. Sometimes the fulfilment is asynchronous and sometimes they are synchronous or at least they can overlap each other in fulfilment. But I have discovered that the fulfilment of each of the prophecies in each of the visions is fairly sequential.

Having said this, the book of Revelation is not a prophecy of world history in the sense that one must try to fit in any major world event into it. As you study the visions and prophecies in this book, you will soon realize that it is primarily focused on the territories of Daniel’s 4^th beast and the areas under its influence. You will also see that the visions described in this book are mostly the ones that primarily affect the church and, in some cases, the natural Israel.

Multiple fulfilments

It is also very important to note that prophecies, like every other scripture, are living and can be applied to multiple occasions and circumstances. Prophecies can be fulfilled multiple times. For example, we see the same prophecies of Israel’s restoration to their land which gave hope to the post-exilic Jews before the first century, fulfilled again in the 20^th century and the same prophecies give comfort to the Jews even today as they ultimately will be fulfilled (again) in the Messianic age. Another example is in the vision of the woman and the dragon in Revelation 12. We know that the woman represents the church since her offspring were identified as Christians (Revelation 12:17). But that prophecy, although futuristic from the time of writing, can also be an allusion to Herod, the Roman’s attempt to kill baby Jesus and the escape of Jesus and Mary to the wilderness. We can also see the pattern in Israel escaping from Pharaoh’s persecution to the wilderness and Sinai where Israel was first established as a nation with a covenant relationship with God. In our interpretation of the same chapter, it has long been fulfilled some centuries after John, but we can still anticipate a greater fulfilment when Jesus the son of God will destroy sin and every opposition for the kingdom to be established on earth at his return.

Also, in the book of Revelation, many times, we can see the citation and importation of phrases, words and imageries from ancient prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures. This does not always mean that this similar prophecy is same as that in the Old Testament. But this connection can help us interpret the passage better.

Revelation…Today

Some of the things I will write here may surprise you. Yes, I admit that the most difficult part of interpreting prophecy is in finding its exact fulfilment in history. Over the centuries, many commentators have in their opinion, found in history the historic fulfilment of the Prophecies in Revelation. Many of these interpretations have been standardized as the acceptable interpretation. I do not mean to criticise any other work but I hope to present in this book, what I understand to be a more accurate historic fulfilment of the prophecies in the Apocalypse of John.

I must also say that any modern commentator on Revelation who is willing to look at the book in a fresh light is at an advantage over the older expositors who mostly lived before the 20^th century. Many of the older expositors gave us a standard approach and interpretation of the book which we can only build on. However, most of them anticipated the return of Christ in their era and therefore can be said to have compressed the events of their time to fit into the prophecies of Revelation, out of their zeal and desire to see the Lord in their lifetime. A lot has happened in the world since the 18^th century, from the two World Wars, to the Holocaust and restoration of Israel, and other events like the solution to the Roman question, Jerusalem reclaimed in 1967, etc. Except our Lord Jesus Christ comes soon in our time as we anticipate, a lot more will still happen in the future that will clearly fulfil many other events that are written. Iraneus, as early as the 2^nd century, while commenting on the identification of the Beast and its number 666, gave a piece of golden advice on the interpretation of prophecy, especially this book of Revelation:

“It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved” (Iranaeus, 1885).

When was Revelation written?

It is generally believed that this book was written sometime around 96AD. John in Revelation 1:9 said he wrote it in the Island of Patmos. He also there introduced himself as our partner in tribulation which indicates that he wrote this book at a time of great persecution of the Christians. Iraneus (180AD) who is said to be a student of Polycarp who in turn was with John the apostle wrote that the Visions in Revelation “was seen not very long ago, almost in our own generation, at the close of the reign of Domitian” (Iranaeus, 1885).

Many early Christians appeared not to have a problem with this date. Clement of Alexandria (150-215AD), Victorinus (died 303AD), Jerome (342 – 420AD) and several others agree on this date.

However, there are other people, especially preterist interpreters who interpret the judgements in the prophecy to have been fulfilled in the 70AD destruction of the temple and are of the opinion that the book was written around 68/69AD under Nero. It follows that if indeed the book was written later than 70AD, their premise will be destroyed.

In all fairness, both Nero and Domitian were the emperors that fiercely persecuted Christians in the first century. However, internal evidence supports the theory that the book was written around 96AD. For example, Paul founded the Ephesian church and wrote to them from prison around 62AD. In that letter, he commended them for their love: “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints” Ephesians 1:15. But if we read the 7 letters as applying to John’s time and not as a prophecy of future events which the whole content of the book really is (1:1-3), we see that in the letter to this same Ephesian church, Christ told them: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Revelation 2:4. A lot can indeed change in around 7 years but this situation of them fighting with false apostles and abandoning their first love appears to have developed some decades later.

Even with all of this evidence, I also propose a third view which is that it is possible that this book was written within the period of 68AD to 96AD which accommodates all the theories of the date. The reason I consider this as a probable opinion is because all the books of the New Testament were completed before 70AD except this one. But most importantly, it is possible that John wrote this book within a period of time considering the fact that other similar scriptures like the book of Daniel, Isaiah and Ezekiel were also written over a period of time and not in one seating. For example, the Book of Isaiah was written “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” Isaiah 1:1b. Daniel’s prophecy also spans from the time of Nebuchadnezzar before the destruction of the temple to the time of Darius of Persia, which is around from 605BS to 539BC.

Does the date of writing really matter that much? It should not because I think that the prophecies only began to be fulfilled about 300 years after John wrote them. I will show that the signs, seals and prophecies in this book of Revelation, as I will set forth in this book, only began to be fulfilled in around the 4^th and 5^th centuries AD, though they may have past applications Revelation 1:19. Remember that this book was a book of prophecy (1:3) or future events (1:1) to those who first received it. It’s still a book of prophecy to us but we have benefit of hindsight that the first recipients never had because we can look back and see some or many of the prophecies in the book already fulfilled. I have a personal conviction that the position I set in this book is more accurate and can be further refined as time passes to bring out a most perfect interpretation of this great book. If it is true, then the date of writing the Book is not very relevant. There will be no point in squeezing first century events into the seals for example except it is just for the purpose of finding an allusion of the prophecy to past events in Israel and the church.

The Plot of the Book

The plot of the entire book is simply about the triumph of good over evil. The triumph of Jesus over Satan the devil, here described as systems that are anti-Christ and false. The triumph of the seed of saints over her persecutors and their victory over Sin and death in Christ Jesus. The triumph and exaltation of the holy city: Zion and the destruction of Babylon the Great or Roman seat of Government as we shall see. The destruction of the kingdom of men and the literal or physical establishment of the kingdom of God here on earth.

The other books in the New Testament were written when the simple gospel message of a belief in Jesus and in the coming kingdom of God was preached. In those days, there were several calls for unity among those who proclaimed the name of the Lord. The church was largely one, under the stewardship of none other but the apostles themselves who had special gifts from God to carry out that task! But towards the end of the first century, at the time of John, the gospel was no longer a mere belief in Jesus and in his kingdom so the question of ‘which Jesus? – the real Christ or the antichrist?’ needed to be asked because of the prevalence of apostasy at the close of the apostolic age. 1John 4:1-3; 2 John 7-11.

The events prophesied in the book of Revelation will take us centuries away from the death of the apostles. This is a period of unimaginable apostasy and that is why the book of Revelation is anti-ecumenical. This book calls for the perseverance for true saints and their unity in the defense of the truth against error. It clearly calls for separation from false Christian systems and churches! “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” Revelation 18:4. The call for Christians to separate from anti-Christian systems is a recurrent theme in the book and I cannot emphasize this enough. Those sealed by God must continue to separate from those with the mark of the Beast.

This is an all-important book of prophecy for Christians. Churches and Christians who do not care about prayerfully finding the true message in this book may most likely be deceived into dining with the wolves who look like sheep because of their deceptive costumes!

Those who read the book are specially blessed. There is a special bestowment of knowledge and blessing attached to the reading and hearing from this book, that is not got from the reading of other books of the Bible. The angel specifically said “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3.

The True Church of Jesus Christ and the saints revealed in this book

Since this book is about the revelation of the true Christ, it is a good thing if we spend some time examining the information, some of it unique, that is revealed to us in this book about Jesus the Christ of God. We are going to devote a long time to learning about Jesus Christ in this book and it will be worth it. We will eventually look at the vision of Christ, the revelation of his appearance and the revelation of what Jesus represents.

This class of people known as the saints and true Church are not a special people different from other humans in appearance. What made them special is their faith in the true Christ and pursuance of the true doctrines against all odds. Are you part of them? The book of Revelation describes them, except in few occasions, as the despised and persecuted class of Christians in all ages, even till the end. The false Church and anti-Christian system are on the other hand seen in the leading position of Christendom. They wield enormous worldly power and historically have been the one hunting out and gruesomely murdering other Christians whom they label heretics, ironically in the name of the same Christ that never permitted Christians to kill!

These saints, as I have written before are represented by John here, who receives and writes the prophetic message meant for them. In the light of this, the description given to John shows the true character and nature of these saints. John was described as:

1. Servant, slave or Bondman: Over the ages, even today and until the end, the saints consider themselves as servants and bondmen of Christ. They are humble in appearance and meek in spirit. They are not pompous nor do they lord it over others. As a Church, they are not known for their wealth and pompous lifestyle. “27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1Corinthians 1:27-31.
2. Witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ: Starting from John who had a personal experience with Christ, the true Church, as we shall see, are those Christians who have resolved to stand only on the revealed word of God. They defend the truth against error even to the point of death. They do not wish to slaughter the Truth on the altars of ecumenism. They don’t sacrifice the fundamental principles of the faith in favour of joining mainstream. Their dwindling numbers was never enough reason for them to trade the truth for error. They were happy to lose their lives and gain the eternal life to come. Jesus commended them in the letter to the 7 churches for rejecting error and the book of Revelation is full of praise and assurances for them for standing strong against the false system of errors.

Relationship of Jesus with God revealed

One of the most beautiful things about this special book of prophecy is that it began with revealing to us the amazing love God the Father has for His son Jesus Christ and for the true Church of Christ who would remain in anguish for a long time, without the physical presence of their Lord. This love is evident in the fact that God in His time gave this Revelation to Jesus who in turn made it known to John. God did not hide His plans from His son and from the church! Jesus, in the days of his flesh, revealed to us that he was not as omniscient or all-knowing like God his father. When asked about the time of his second coming, he stated that he didn’t know. Even the angels in heaven do not have such knowledge of this. “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36. This clearly shows the omnipotence of God over all His creations.

God showed first to His Son, the things that will shortly come to pass, in great detail which we have before us as the book of Revelation, although not everything that God revealed was written in the book Revelation 10:4. Those who believe that God is part of a trinity and that Jesus is co-equal and co-eternal with God will definitely have a problem with the opening of Revelation which clearly shows that it is God who gave Jesus a Revelation he never has or knew, or the very fact that Jesus testified that he didn’t know when he will come back, but only God knew! This is why every truth seeker and every Christian must read or hear from someone who reads out the book of Revelation! The blessing in this book puts you on the right belief and the right path separates you from those with the mark of the beast. We shall see more on this as we progress in our study.

Revelation 1:4-8: Greetings and Doxology

Seven Churches Introduced

As we have earlier noted, this book of Revelation is communicated in a symbolic manner. Why would Christ write only to 7 churches in Asia Minor? The number 7 is both symbolic and literal. Symbolic in the sense that it represents the total number of what is described. 7 here then represents all churches. But the number is also literal. The seven churches were situated in the country of Turkey today. Geographically, the cities where the churches were located form part of a circular trade route that attracted many people in Asia Minor in those days. It is believed that it would have been extremely easy for the letters to spread to the rest of the Christian world from this area. It indeed did spread.

Because 7 is also symbolic for completeness, the Praise and Rebuke of our Lord to each of the churches when put together would represent a complete message to all the true churches of the Lamb or ecclesias in the world.

Christ’s love for his body or the true church here represented as the 7 churches is evident in that he gave his life for us to be free. “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, a for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 14:13-15.

Revelation 1:12-20 – Vision of Jesus Christ

Appearance of Jesus

This is the first time the detailed physical appearance of Jesus Christ or one who manifests Christ, is described in the New Testament. We see here a description of the glorified Christ in heaven! Is this revelation a pointer to what Jesus looks now in heaven or is the description purely symbolic? I think it’s at least a symbolic depiction of the glorified Christ but also a possible reflection of his true appearance as seen through the angelic being that manifests him. Remember that the title of this book is ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ and it is befitting for this book to rightly start with a revelation of what Jesus looks like now in heaven or as revealed to John. There are very important points we can learn from this vision of Christ and I will bring out some of them.

Before then, there is a similar vision in Daniel 10 of one like Jesus Christ as described in Revelation 1. The visions are so strikingly similar that some suggest that the glorified Jesus was the same person that Daniel saw which would mean that Jesus had a physical and personal existence even before he was born. We know that to God, Jesus existed in the Logos or Word of God before he was born. We also know that Jesus has a beginning from God and was conceived. Later on, we will examine if this person that Daniel saw is Jesus Christ even before he was born as some say. But before we do that, since the visions are very similar, we can actually compare the two and even attempt to use either of them to improve the other or explain it better where applicable. For example, when the one like Jesus spoke, his voice was like the ‘roar of many waters.’ Revelation 1:15. What would that mean? We find the answer in Daniel’s vision. When the man Daniel saw spoke, his voice was ‘like the sound of a multitude!’ Daniel 10:6. This means that ‘many waters’ must then be a symbol for a multitude. We can even confirm that this interpretation is true from same Revelation: “And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” Revelation 17:15. You can see what I mean by comparing the two visions in order to improve our understanding of the symbols, right? Let’s compare the two visions and comment on the additional information we can get. Please note that my emphasis is in explaining the clear vision of Christ in Revelation 1. We only look at Daniel 10 for possible extra information where applicable.

Is vision of Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:9-20 the same person in the vision of Daniel 10:5-10?

Some Bible students argue that Jesus Christ was the same person that appeared to Daniel even before he was born. I do not think so. Let’s look at these two persons closely and see the real difference that proves Daniel did not see Jesus Christ.

1. Daniel saw a man clothed with linen while John saw ‘one like the son of man’ Revelation 1:13. It was later that Daniel saw another person identified as ‘one like the son of man’ in Daniel 10:16.
2. The person Daniel saw is most likely an angel. He couldn’t defeat the prince of the kingdom of Persia until Michael came to help him: “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia” Daniel 10:13.
3. Jesus couldn’t have existed as either God almighty or an immortal angel before he was born because immortals don’t die neither do they change to men. But Jesus declared: “I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:18.

Who then did Daniel see?

The answer to this question is in the biblical and divine principle of God manifestation or what theologians refer to as ‘Theophany.’ Although no human eye has ever seen God or can see God and live, we see in the scriptures God revealing Himself to mortals in a spectacular form like in the case of Daniel in the table below. Even more striking is the fact that God also can choose to manifest Himself in other beings in a similar way that reflects His own attributes. Compare the vision of the Ancient of Days or God in Daniel 7 with that of Jesus Christ, the Cherubim and the man in both Daniel and Ezekiel’s visions. You will see similarities from the hair to the robes and bronze features.

What this means is that God can choose to make an angelic being that Daniel saw in chapter 10 manifest Him or even Jesus Christ who was yet to be born or physically exist.

Jesus as the First and Last who died

To further on this principle of God manifestation, if you noticed, Jesus introduced himself by saying: “…Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17,18. I am interested in the fact that Jesus introduced himself as the First and the Last. This title belongs to God as we see below:

• Isa 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 
• Isa 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. 
• Isa 48:12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. 

Does this now mean that Jesus Christ is exactly YHWH, the God of Israel that we read in the pages of scriptures? There are some fundamental things we know of God that cannot fit into the description of Jesus. We know that God cannot change, for example from God to a man. We know that God is not a man nor a son of man. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?” Numbers 23:19.

Most importantly, we know that God of the Bible cannot die, under any circumstance! Yet Jesus said that he died: “…Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Revelation 1:17,18.

This apparent discrepancy is resolved when we understand this divine principle of God manifestation in another person. After the resurrection of Jesus, God highly exalted him and gave him His own name which is the name above every other name! Phil 2:9. God also commanded His angels to worship Jesus because he is the most excellent manifestation and effulgence of the image of God, making him one who can be worshipped or Elohim (God) to the rest of the creation. Because of this principle, it is not out of place for Jesus to take up the title and even the name of God: Yahweh. On the other hand, this does not make Jesus equal with God. The scripture is very clear that Jesus is only a son and that God is greater than Jesus always. John 14:28.

In conclusion, Revelation 1 is a vision of the glorified Christ. Jesus is the most excellent manifestation of the glory and person of God. The angel that Daniel saw is also another angelic manifestation of God, one of the Chief princes of the angels that also manifest some of the attributes of God like Jesus. But he is not Jesus Christ. He is one of the angels or ministering spirits in heaven who like the heavens declare the glory of God.

Let us now proceed with examining the details of the vision of our Lord as revealed to John.

Vision of Jesus Christ explained

1. Jesus is like a son of man:

Jesus, while on earth addressed himself as the son of man to put emphasis on his humanity. After his resurrection and glorification, Christ’s human nature was forever destroyed and he put on immortality which now made him for the first time, divine in nature. What is most adorable is that despite his glory now in heaven which is above that of any angel, yet when John saw him, he noticed that he was so much like a human being or a son of man/Adam in appearance! Daniel noticed the same thing when he saw Jesus in glory (Daniel 7:13), even before he was born, approaching his Father to take over the kingdoms of the world, a vision which is yet to be fulfilled. This does not mean that Jesus always existed as a person in heaven but God, who could ‘call into existence the things that do not yet exist’ (Romans 4:17) and Who declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) allowed Daniel to travel far ahead in time to witness this glorious event which is still future from now. See Daniel 7:13. It is in the same sense that God could have a relationship with Jeremiah even before he was born, Jeremiah 1:5.

But what is most beautiful in these visions is that when Daniel and John saw Christ, they must have obviously noticed that of all the heavenly beings, Christ was far more glorious in appearance (Hebrews 1:4). But when they looked at him closely, they soon realized that this Christ was so much like themselves and they were compelled to write that in heaven, they saw ‘one like the son of man!’ It is so comforting to know that we have one like us in heaven, our representative! This is why despite his highly exalted state, even in heaven now, he still has a knowledge of who he was and he can sympathize with our weakness like no other person in heaven actually can! “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrew 4:15.

In the same way, when this son of man appears the second time with great glory and with legions of angels, we will see him and see his great glory. But when we look closely at him on that day, we will see that he is actually one of us! Although Christ is our Lord, he is actually our brother too and a representative of the man that is highly exalted by God. Hebrew 2:12

• Jesus is literally the express image of God his Father. From this vision of the appearance of the Messiah, we see that Jesus is actually the express image of God his Father. If we compare this appearance of Christ with the vision of God the Father in Daniel and that of His glory or Cherubim in Ezekiel, we will see a striking outward resemblance between the manifestation Christ and that of His Father.

At least, if we could see the manifestation of God, we would see a person with white hair according to this vision of Daniel. We see a similar person when we look at the manifestation of Christ His son. Is this what Jesus meant when he said ‘when you see me you have seen my Father’? We know that Jesus is so much like God in character. He was perfect and holy like God making him the express image of God. But have we thought of him having a striking resemblance with God in form or appearance?

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” Hebrews 1:3. The word image there although in Greek is charaktēr, it actually means something like ‘exact copy’ according to Strong’s. We also read that Jesus in the days of his flesh, was in the form of God, Phil 2:6. The word form that passage is translated from the Greek morphe. According to Thayer, this word means:

1. The form by which a person or thing strikes the vision
2. External appearance

 I think this may be one of the points John wanted to bring out when he wrote that Jesus was the Logos or the Word that was made flesh. We can now read these words of Christ again in this light: “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen” John 5:37. “9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:7. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” Hebrews 1:3.

I want to believe that although Jesus was the son of Mary and therefore completely human, God formed him and made him look somehow different from the people of his race and his contemporaries but more like God Himself! I mean he looked human because he was human and after all we, especially himself was made in the image of God. Since he was specially made in the image of God as the only begotten of God, he may have looked different in appearance when compared to his people. Did he look more like a glimpse of God his Father? If it is true that Jesus had some resemblance to God Himself, then he must have been the most handsome man on earth at that time! But the testimony of the scripture about the appearance of Jesus is quite on the contrary: “…he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him. 3 He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease, and as one from whom men hide their face: he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:2,3.

It then appears that our fleshly thoughts, mind, and eyes by its nature see the very opposite of divine grandeur as beauty! It is now up to us to develop our spiritual mind by the word of God to see as God sees for if the people knew how majestic the very son of God was, they would never have turned their face away from him even for a moment! Charm is indeed deceitful, and beauty is vain (Proverbs 31:30). “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7.

Part of the reason this book of Revelation is written to us is to reveal to us who Jesus really is especially with respect to his Father. I believe he looked so much like God his Father. Let’s proceed.

Revelation 1:20 – The true church as the Golden Lampstands

Golden Lampstand as the 7 branched Menorah:

These 7 Golden Lampstands represents 7-Lamp Golden Menorahs as seen in the temple. Unlike what some commentators think, the Golden lampstand here is not a single lampstand like a candlestick but a seven light golden Menorah as seen in the description given to Moses in Exodus 25:31-40. “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold…” Exodus 25:31. That this Lampstand is golden is a great pointer to the fact that Menorah is intended here. Also, the Greek used in Revelation for Lampstand ‘λυχνία’ is the LXX equivalent of Menorah as used in Exodus 25. Not only that, it is only used for the Menorah in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 11:4 which is in turn an allusion to Zechariah 4:2 which clearly speaks of a 7-Lamp Menorah. It is further used here to denote the Menorah: “For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand (Menorah or Luchnia) and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.” Hebrew 9:2.

Now that we have identified the Menorah as the Golden Lampstand spoken of here, I must comment that a whole lot of books has been written on the spiritual significance of the Menorah which we cannot speak of here in detail. I will only proceed to comment, in few points on the significance of the Menorah as the true church of Christ.

The menorah as the true Church of Christ:

We already know that the Lampstand represents the church, Revelation 1:20. By Church, we do not mean the global body of Christ but each assembly of believers in their respective cities and communities.

The Golden Menorah is first and foremost a source of Light. Jesus Christ is Light and the Church, his body must also shine the true light of God to the rest of mankind, especially those who draw near to seek God. The Menorah is rightly described as the Lamp of God in 1 Samuel 3:3. The church or Ecclesia of Christ must then be very active in shining forth this light of God to the rest of mankind. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

The best way to identify a dead or dying Christian and Church is in the luminosity of its light. The Christian and the church must in character and good deeds shine forth the divine light to the rest of the world. The true church of Christ must actively preach the gospel. This is indeed a rare privilege given to the church and Christians, as if other people’s salvation is tied to how bright their light shines in their city and a community. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2Corinthians 5:20. Show me a Church or an assembly (Ecclesia) that makes no effort to preach the gospel or support missionary works in their community and beyond, and I will show you a completely dead church. It does not matter how frequent Bible studies and expositions, and numerous activities are held in that church. As long as it is not intentionally geared toward spreading the gospel of grace to those without, that church is completely dead. And it is in that scale: The more active a church is in reaching out to those in need of Christ and salvation, the more alive they are in Christ!

One can speak to an audience of about 500 baptized believers and excel in the presentation of such topics as the temple of Ezekiel or the beasts of the Apocalypse, but it can never be as valuable as speaking on the simple Gospel of grace and Hope of Israel to an audience of say 5 people who may be hearing this precious hope for the first time. Exhorting the brothers and sisters is important, we already do that at least weekly. But reaching out to those who are thirsty for the living waters is far more important.

The Structure of the True Church revealed in the Menorah:

There is a lot of detail in the book of Revelation that can help us to identify the real Jesus Christ and the true Church of Jesus Christ. The Golden Menorah is one such object that has a lot of detailed information for us in this regard. Let’s look at the structure of the true Church of Christ as revealed in the Menorah.

1. Unity of the global Church:

The Tabernacle menorah was beaten out of ONE piece of Gold. This shows that the true Church of Christ is of Christ’s body. The 7 golden lampstands here are depicted somewhat as replicas of the one Golden Lampstand. This is in line with Solomon’s temple that had 10 Golden Menorahs instead of the one that was in the tabernacle, 2 Chronicles 4:7. They may exist separately, but they are of ONE who is Christ. To emphasize on this unity, Jesus is seen continuously walking in the midst of these 7 lampstands!

We also see the patience of Jesus with the church that errs especially by tolerating false doctrines or hating one another. It is in the vision of Christ walking among the 7 golden Menorahs that we also see that Jesus could remove the Lampstand or a church from its place. The Church may continue to exist thinking that it is the Church of Christ without knowing that it has embraced the false Messiah and apostasy through her adultery and tolerance of false doctrines. The true church may cease to exist, and a false one replace but yet thinking it is historically and spiritually connected with the true that stood in its place before.

• Autonomy of the Church

It appears that the true Church of Christ must be autonomous and that anything short of this will sooner or later spell doom, and clearly not of Christ. You will clearly notice that each of the lampstands stood on its own without a physical linkage to any other lampstand or Headquarters or Holy City where the members must travel to for spiritual guidance. All of the golden lampstands stood on their own and were directly connected to Christ their head and source of life without any intermediary.

Jesus prophesied of this Church age. The woman of Samaria felt that people would continue to worship God in Jerusalem or in Mount Gerizim but “Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” John 4:21-23.

At the early stages of the Church, the church in Jerusalem served as a kind of de facto headquarters because that is where the movement began and especially because that was where the apostles, including Peter, James and John, were concentrated. Since the church was not designed to run from a point, God sent the Holy Spirit gifts to the apostles which should be transferred to thousands of other Christians to empower them to understand and take decisions with regards to the church. God also sent persecutions which dispersed the Jews from Jerusalem. Then the apostles left Jerusalem to various churches in the world. John himself went to Ephesus. As if that was not enough, God sent the Romans who finally destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, and this destruction put an end to the perception of the Jerusalem church as the headquarters of Christianity.

Why then did Christ design the churches to be autonomous without a centralized authority?

1. The head of any Church must be Christ, Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18

We shall further examine this point under the next subheading. No church is permitted to lord themselves over any other church. It is okay for churches to help and support one another but not from a position of a master-servant relationship as we see in many organizations today. Christ is sufficient as the head of any church, and he deals with them perfectly well. Also, no Church is permitted to serve as an intermediary between another church and Christ as if it were a priest to her. Each church must connect and relate directly with Christ their head.

• Makes it difficult to change the original church doctrines of Christ

As the churches of Christ remained autonomous in the first century and beyond, it was difficult for any group of people or anyone to change the fundamental gospel or teachings as received from the apostles or as recorded in the Bible. With this autonomous arrangement, it was impossible for the global churches of Christ to go into error all at once. This was the situation in the first to fourth century. This is also reflected in Christ’s letters to the 7 churches. We see that each church had their accepted Statement of Faith, some tolerated or even accepted errors while others stayed pure. But none imposed their faith, as a creed on other churches. The true church must still operate in this structure because it is against the teaching of Christ for any person or any church to impose their views on others.

The leaders of any church must look to the Bible alone as the sole source of their faith. Any centralized authority will always interfere in the doctrinal positions of the branch churches because those at the so-called center would feel they are superior in status to the rest of the branches. The conflict we have in Christendom today is because the so-called church owners or founders and the Headquarters claim to have received conflicting extra biblical revelations which they impose on their church networks.

Brief History:

It was not until the 4^th century, starting from the reign of Emperor Constantine, that the Romans hijacked Christianity and gradually made Rome the headquarters of the Roman version of Christianity. The emperor, though pagan somewhat became the leader of the Roman Catholic religion. A model is replicated in the Anglican church where the king or queen of Britain is the by legal right the supreme head of the church. One of the reasons we have the book of Revelation is to guide the believer and truth seeker into identifying the true Jesus and the true church. It is not permitted for the Church to have a head of State or royalty as its supreme head. It is also not permitted for the true church to look to any city, town or particular church as its holy ground.

• A single Bishop or even General Overseer was not the original apostolic organization of the church

If you observe the golden Menorah in the temple, you will notice that although it is beaten out of one strand of gold, it has seven branches who bear the cups and the lights equally. The whole assembly which is the body of Christ ought to shine as lights, but the church formerly did this through their leaders represented by the 7 branches of the Menorah. This 7 might be symbolic representing the complete number of overseers a church has or it can be literal which suggests a 7-man committee of servant leaders of the church.

If we go back to the history of the apostolic church, we find out that the church was originally built around the 12 apostles. But these apostles, as I have noted earlier, were not called and sent to concentrate their gifts and efforts in one city and one church. They together with other prominent leaders, later called apostles, were busy preaching and travelling to many cities spreading the gospel and laying hands on people Acts 8:14; Galatians 2:11. As the church grew, the apostles rightly appointed seven servant leaders to see to the needs and affairs of the members of the Assembly, Acts 6:3-7. It appears that these 7 servant-leader structures later became a model for well-established churches that is shown by the design of the Menorah.

One other point is that out of the elders or bishops in a church, it appears that there is one of them who stands out as the chairman of the college of elders. Polycarp was such person in the church in Smyrna in the second century and John was the same in Ephesus in the first century.

Bishops and Elders? Today, you may think that the church should have the so-called Lord Bishop as its head. Actually, the apostolic church never separated the Elders or Presbyters from the bishops. As a matter of fact, ‘bishop’ was never a special title reserved for a person with all the pomp and regalia. The word bishop is from the Greek episkopos which simply mean an overseer! In the apostolic church of Christ, the elders, presbyters or servant leaders of the church were the overseers or the bishops! In Acts chapter 20, we read that Paul went to the church in Ephesus which he established, which is also the first church Christ wrote to in Revelation 2. We read that he “…called the elders of the church to come to him.” The word elders there is the plural of Presbyter in Greek which clearly show that the apostolic church was not run by a single powerful individual but a college of presbyters. In verse 28, Paul advised these elders or presbyters to “Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28 ASV. The word translated bishop is ‘episkopos’ which is also in the plural. This word means ‘overseers’ as in KJV, ESV and other version. We clearly see that the Elders served as bishops or overseers of the church. They are one and the same people. The apostles and the elders worked hand in hand in those days. The elders were localized while the apostles were there for all Christian churches.

This structure is reflected in other letters of Paul in the New Testament. Peter also confirmed that this was the accepted structure which never permitted a single person to dominate others. Peter wrote: “So, I exhort the elders (presbyters) among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight (episkopeo=oversee/bishop), not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:1-3.

Brief history:

Once again, when the Romans hijacked Christianity in the 4^th century, they endorsed the heretical idea of a single bishopric. Rome was made the capital city of Christianity. The heresy of apostolic succession was endorsed by them and eventually, they turned the Bishop of Rome into the supreme father of all Christians in the world, also known as the infallible pope!

With this extra-biblical structure, the emperor and the bishop could depose the bishops of every known church. They could exile and kill any Christian who disagreed with their dogmas and now could enforce pagan doctrines on all churches using their new found powers! In fact the Romans turned the church upside down. The church was rather like an inverted Menorah with a powerful base and stem which is the pope as their lord and supreme father instead of Christ and the branches directly under their rule which is the rest of the church members. Jesus had warned: “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23:8-12.

We are comforted by the fact that what the Romans created was not the true Church. This why the Apocalypse was given to us: To reveal the true Christ and the true Church and also to expose the false Christian system.

We shall look at this history later in chapter 12.