Revelation 17

Revelation 17:1

John on Patmos

Revelation 1:7. With a “behold” John draws the attention to Him Who will appear in person. This is the great event toward which the whole book is working. It is said in a way that it should not be looked forward to only later, but already now. You may call it the ‘prophetic present tense’. It indicates how real and close the events are, not only for John in those days, but also for you today.

The Lord Jesus will appear “with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13) and also “on the clouds of the sky” (Matthew 24:30) which, as it were, form His throne. So it is not about His coming to take up the church, which you may call His first coming, for that will take place “in the clouds”, and will not be visible for everyone (1 Thessalonians 4:17; cf. Acts 1:9; Luke 21:27). That will surely be the case at His second coming. Everyone will come face to face with Him, no man excepted.

Of all those people John mentions a certain category, namely, “those who pierced Him”. This primarily refers to the Jews (Zechariah 12:10), but it also refers to the Gentiles, for a Roman soldier pierced Him (John 19:34). They who committed this deed of contempt will be full of fear when they behold Him. It will cause an enormous mourning among the Jews (Zechariah 12:10-14), which will be the beginning of their conversion. This is the way it will happen, “so it is to be. Amen”. ‘So it is to be’ or ‘yes’ is the Greek confirmation and ‘amen’ the Hebrew version of it, indicating for Gentiles and Jews that God’s Word is established.

Revelation 1:8. Then He, Who is coming, makes Himself heard. He says Who He is: “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” The alpha and the omega are the first and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. In these two letters all the other letters are embedded. In this name you also see that He is ‘the Word of God’. What He has started as the Alpha He will accomplish as the Omega. He Who shall come and is speaking here is the Lord Jesus. He is ‘the first and the last’ (Revelation 1:17; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 22:13). That is also what Yahweh, LORD, the name of God in the Old Testament, says of Himself (Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 48:12), which is again another proof that the Lord Jesus is Yahweh.

He Who is speaking is ‘Yahweh Elohim’ or “the Lord God”, which is the Lord Jesus. He is the One “who is”, the Eternal One. He “was” and will always be. He is also the One “who is to come”. He is the Almighty Who will realize all His promises and plans. He Who was pierced, when He as the weakness of God was hanging on the cross, is Yahweh Himself, “the Almighty”, Who has all power in the universe and Who is about to reveal that power. This is a comfort for His people, because He carries and supports them with His omnipotence. At the same time it is a threat for His enemies, because He will judge them and render to every man according to his works.

Revelation 1:9. No one else than John addresses his readers. He doesn’t present himself as an apostle, but as a “brother” among the brethren. In his Gospel he calls himself “the disciple” (John 21:24), and in his letters “the elder” (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1). He also calls himself “fellow partaker in the tribulation” from which we derive that he shares the same fate as his fellow believers who also had to endure suffering under the emperor of Rome. Tribulation goes together with faith. It is the path along which you must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

The time to reign has not come yet. You still have to persevere, right through all kinds of tribulations and tests, till the moment comes to reign. When the Lord Jesus returns, that is when it will be. You may remember that the Lord Jesus is also still waiting for the establishment of the kingdom.

John speaks about “Jesus” here, which is the Name of His humiliation and a reminder of His sojourn on earth. When He was on earth He also showed that perseverance. When Pilate asks Him if He is the King of the Jews, He testifies that He is, but adds : “But as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” (John 18:36). Pay attention to the words ‘but as it is’. It shows that during His presence on earth He did not established His kingdom. That establishment is future even now.

John testified from God’s Word of that kingdom. This was not to the liking of the Roman ruler who saw in it a threat to his own kingdom and position (cf. Acts 17:7) and therefore expelled him to “the island called Patmos”. John did not speak what men loved to hear, otherwise he would not have been a captive now. He was ‘uneducated’ (Acts 4:13), but he spoke the Word of God with power and authority. In his preaching he testified to Jesus, Who is the center of all God’s thoughts and plans.

Revelation 1:10. There John was sitting, isolated and lonesome on an island. He is not voluntarily there, to have a break, but as a captive. He was exiled to that place, without any prospect of release. It doesn’t look like that he could expect a visit from time to time. But it doesn’t mean that the Lord was not with him and that the Spirit could not use him. On the day of the Lord, literally: the day pertaining to the Lord, the first day of the week (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:20) he felt into a trance through the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 10:10; Acts 22:17). The day of the Lord, the first day of the week, is the day of His resurrection (John 20:1; 19, Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). On this day John receives all information and visions that are written in this book.

But before he sees something, he hears something behind him. It is as if he is standing with his back to the churches, while he is looking at the kingdom in the expectation that it will come. But the Lord has not finished yet with His church on earth. He has to deal with it first. He calls John to look, so that he has to turn and must pay attention to what the Lord is paying attention to.

What he hears is “a loud voice like [the sound] of a trumpet”. It is not the voice of the good Shepherd, Who calls His sheep by name. He heard that voice when he walked with the Lord Jesus through Israel (John 10:11; 14). But now he hears the voice of an ominous Judge, of Someone Who pronounces and executes judgment.

Revelation 1:11. The voice of the Judge commands John to write in a book what he sees. That implies that he must sharply observe and take in. All his observations must then be documented in writings so that they will be preserved for later generations. However, the book is not only meaningful for later generations, but also for the seven named churches in Asia Minor, in the western part of present-day Turkey.

There were more churches in Asia Minor. But the Holy Spirit of God has chosen these seven because they are, as a matter of fact, a reflection of the church in its whole through the ages. That’s why it says “the” seven churches. It is these seven particular churches to which this book should be sent. That there are seven, shows that it is about something complete. It is about the complete history of the church on earth.

Also the order is not random, but of certain importance. You will see that when we will take a closer look at these seven churches in the next two chapters. At the same time, each church is also mentioned separately, which you can derive from the word “to” that is before the name of each church.

Revelation 1:12. When John heard the voice and what it has said, he turns. He wants to see the voice that was speaking with him. Of course you cannot see a voice, but the voice is of a person. That Person is the Lord Jesus. He is the Word. When John turns he first sees “seven golden lampstands” and then only he sees the Son of Man. Isn’t it like how it happens today, that we first see the believers and then only, as it were through them, the Lord Jesus?

John notices that the lampstands are of gold. Gold represents the glory of God. A lampstand is meant to spread light. Therefore, the fact that the churches are compared with golden lampstands means that the purpose of local churches is to spread Divine light.

Each local church ought to display in its environment Who God is. It can only do that by taking His Word into consideration. By listening to the truth of God’s Word and obeying it, the light will be spread in the darkness. Darkness rules everywhere in the world and it covers more and more places in professing Christianity. You will see how it happened that the light of the lampstand is getting weaker and weaker and that even a situation can arise that a lampstand is taken away.

Now read Revelation 1:7-12 again.

Reflection: What is the reason for John being on Patmos?

Revelation 17:2

John on Patmos

Revelation 1:7. With a “behold” John draws the attention to Him Who will appear in person. This is the great event toward which the whole book is working. It is said in a way that it should not be looked forward to only later, but already now. You may call it the ‘prophetic present tense’. It indicates how real and close the events are, not only for John in those days, but also for you today.

The Lord Jesus will appear “with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13) and also “on the clouds of the sky” (Matthew 24:30) which, as it were, form His throne. So it is not about His coming to take up the church, which you may call His first coming, for that will take place “in the clouds”, and will not be visible for everyone (1 Thessalonians 4:17; cf. Acts 1:9; Luke 21:27). That will surely be the case at His second coming. Everyone will come face to face with Him, no man excepted.

Of all those people John mentions a certain category, namely, “those who pierced Him”. This primarily refers to the Jews (Zechariah 12:10), but it also refers to the Gentiles, for a Roman soldier pierced Him (John 19:34). They who committed this deed of contempt will be full of fear when they behold Him. It will cause an enormous mourning among the Jews (Zechariah 12:10-14), which will be the beginning of their conversion. This is the way it will happen, “so it is to be. Amen”. ‘So it is to be’ or ‘yes’ is the Greek confirmation and ‘amen’ the Hebrew version of it, indicating for Gentiles and Jews that God’s Word is established.

Revelation 1:8. Then He, Who is coming, makes Himself heard. He says Who He is: “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” The alpha and the omega are the first and the last letter of the Greek alphabet. In these two letters all the other letters are embedded. In this name you also see that He is ‘the Word of God’. What He has started as the Alpha He will accomplish as the Omega. He Who shall come and is speaking here is the Lord Jesus. He is ‘the first and the last’ (Revelation 1:17; Revelation 2:8; Revelation 22:13). That is also what Yahweh, LORD, the name of God in the Old Testament, says of Himself (Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 48:12), which is again another proof that the Lord Jesus is Yahweh.

He Who is speaking is ‘Yahweh Elohim’ or “the Lord God”, which is the Lord Jesus. He is the One “who is”, the Eternal One. He “was” and will always be. He is also the One “who is to come”. He is the Almighty Who will realize all His promises and plans. He Who was pierced, when He as the weakness of God was hanging on the cross, is Yahweh Himself, “the Almighty”, Who has all power in the universe and Who is about to reveal that power. This is a comfort for His people, because He carries and supports them with His omnipotence. At the same time it is a threat for His enemies, because He will judge them and render to every man according to his works.

Revelation 1:9. No one else than John addresses his readers. He doesn’t present himself as an apostle, but as a “brother” among the brethren. In his Gospel he calls himself “the disciple” (John 21:24), and in his letters “the elder” (2 John 1:1; 3 John 1:1). He also calls himself “fellow partaker in the tribulation” from which we derive that he shares the same fate as his fellow believers who also had to endure suffering under the emperor of Rome. Tribulation goes together with faith. It is the path along which you must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

The time to reign has not come yet. You still have to persevere, right through all kinds of tribulations and tests, till the moment comes to reign. When the Lord Jesus returns, that is when it will be. You may remember that the Lord Jesus is also still waiting for the establishment of the kingdom.

John speaks about “Jesus” here, which is the Name of His humiliation and a reminder of His sojourn on earth. When He was on earth He also showed that perseverance. When Pilate asks Him if He is the King of the Jews, He testifies that He is, but adds : “But as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” (John 18:36). Pay attention to the words ‘but as it is’. It shows that during His presence on earth He did not established His kingdom. That establishment is future even now.

John testified from God’s Word of that kingdom. This was not to the liking of the Roman ruler who saw in it a threat to his own kingdom and position (cf. Acts 17:7) and therefore expelled him to “the island called Patmos”. John did not speak what men loved to hear, otherwise he would not have been a captive now. He was ‘uneducated’ (Acts 4:13), but he spoke the Word of God with power and authority. In his preaching he testified to Jesus, Who is the center of all God’s thoughts and plans.

Revelation 1:10. There John was sitting, isolated and lonesome on an island. He is not voluntarily there, to have a break, but as a captive. He was exiled to that place, without any prospect of release. It doesn’t look like that he could expect a visit from time to time. But it doesn’t mean that the Lord was not with him and that the Spirit could not use him. On the day of the Lord, literally: the day pertaining to the Lord, the first day of the week (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:20) he felt into a trance through the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 10:10; Acts 22:17). The day of the Lord, the first day of the week, is the day of His resurrection (John 20:1; 19, Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). On this day John receives all information and visions that are written in this book.

But before he sees something, he hears something behind him. It is as if he is standing with his back to the churches, while he is looking at the kingdom in the expectation that it will come. But the Lord has not finished yet with His church on earth. He has to deal with it first. He calls John to look, so that he has to turn and must pay attention to what the Lord is paying attention to.

What he hears is “a loud voice like [the sound] of a trumpet”. It is not the voice of the good Shepherd, Who calls His sheep by name. He heard that voice when he walked with the Lord Jesus through Israel (John 10:11; 14). But now he hears the voice of an ominous Judge, of Someone Who pronounces and executes judgment.

Revelation 1:11. The voice of the Judge commands John to write in a book what he sees. That implies that he must sharply observe and take in. All his observations must then be documented in writings so that they will be preserved for later generations. However, the book is not only meaningful for later generations, but also for the seven named churches in Asia Minor, in the western part of present-day Turkey.

There were more churches in Asia Minor. But the Holy Spirit of God has chosen these seven because they are, as a matter of fact, a reflection of the church in its whole through the ages. That’s why it says “the” seven churches. It is these seven particular churches to which this book should be sent. That there are seven, shows that it is about something complete. It is about the complete history of the church on earth.

Also the order is not random, but of certain importance. You will see that when we will take a closer look at these seven churches in the next two chapters. At the same time, each church is also mentioned separately, which you can derive from the word “to” that is before the name of each church.

Revelation 1:12. When John heard the voice and what it has said, he turns. He wants to see the voice that was speaking with him. Of course you cannot see a voice, but the voice is of a person. That Person is the Lord Jesus. He is the Word. When John turns he first sees “seven golden lampstands” and then only he sees the Son of Man. Isn’t it like how it happens today, that we first see the believers and then only, as it were through them, the Lord Jesus?

John notices that the lampstands are of gold. Gold represents the glory of God. A lampstand is meant to spread light. Therefore, the fact that the churches are compared with golden lampstands means that the purpose of local churches is to spread Divine light.

Each local church ought to display in its environment Who God is. It can only do that by taking His Word into consideration. By listening to the truth of God’s Word and obeying it, the light will be spread in the darkness. Darkness rules everywhere in the world and it covers more and more places in professing Christianity. You will see how it happened that the light of the lampstand is getting weaker and weaker and that even a situation can arise that a lampstand is taken away.

Now read Revelation 1:7-12 again.

Reflection: What is the reason for John being on Patmos?

Revelation 17:3

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:4

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:5

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:6

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:7

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:8

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:9

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:10

In the Middle of the Lampstands

Revelation 1:13. After having seen the golden lampstands, John sees Someone standing in the middle of them. John recognizes Him as no one else than the “Son of Man”, that is the Lord Jesus (cf. Daniel 7:9-13). He is standing here – figuratively – in the middle of the churches, in order to judge them. That can be derived from the characteristics that are then observed by John. You find these characteristics also in Daniel 7, but there as characteristics of the Ancient of days, that is God Himself. That proves once more that the Lord Jesus is God. The wearied Man sitting by the well at Sychar (John 4:6) and the Creator Who ”does not become weary or tired” (Isaiah 40:28) is the same Person.

The first characteristic of the Son of Man is that He is “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet”. He is not the Servant here Who lays aside His garments to serve His disciples as a humble Servant (John 13:4; cf. Luke 12:35). It is the garment of the Judge. The Lord Jesus judges the church in connection with the responsibility it has as a testimony on earth (cf. 1 Peter 4:17).

The second characteristic is that He is “girded across His chest with a golden sash”. His “chest” speaks of love. ‘Gold’ speaks of Divine glory. The “sash” speaks of serving. From this you can derive that He also as a Judge serves in love.

Revelation 1:14. He carries out His service as Judge reverently and with wisdom and in accordance with the purity of heaven. That is what the next characteristic refers to: “His head and His hair were white like white wool” (Proverbs 16:31; Proverbs 20:29).

The following characteristic, “His eyes were like a flame of fire”, indicates that He sees through everything and tests everything that is not in accordance with His holiness. Nothing can remain hidden from this flame of fire. This is how He tests the entire professing Christianity of which the seven churches are a picture.

Revelation 1:15. That “His feet [were] like burnished bronze” means that the standard of His judgment is His own walk. What He should expect of the spiritual condition of the church is that it responds to what He has shown in His walk on earth in dedication to God. “Bronze” is a picture of a righteousness that can stand the fire of God’s judgment (Numbers 16:37-39), because there is nothing that has to be consumed by the fire. Everything is in accordance with God.

While He shows Himself in this way, “His voice [was] like the sound of many waters” (Ezekiel 43:2; Psalms 93:4). This expresses the power of His words with which He will pronounce the judgment. The power of His voice will prevent any possible reply. No one will dare to dispute His verdict.

Revelation 1:16. He also has “in His right hand … seven stars”. What the seven stars mean is explained in Revelation 1:20. They are the seven angels, that is, the responsible ones in each of the seven churches. The Lord Jesus has them in His right hand, which is the hand of His power. That indicates that He has the control over them.

The “sharp two-edged sword” that came “out of His mouth” (Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:12; 16; Revelation 19:15; 21), is a picture of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Christ judges the churches by this Word, which they have known, but neglected in so many ways. The Divine, revealed Word is the standard according to which everyone will be judged (John 12:48). It will have to be acknowledged by everyone.

The description of His Person is concluded with a description of “His face”. That is “like the sun shining in its strength” (Matthew 17:2; Acts 26:13; Malachi 4:2). The sun places everything in the light, nothing remains hidden. His countenance is the same countenance at which people have been spitting (Matthew 26:67).

Revelation 1:17. When John has seen Him in His full majesty, he fells “at His feet like a dead man”. The sight is so terrifying that he almost dies. When the Lord was on earth John knew the confidential intercourse with Him and was reclining on His bosom (John 13:23-25). But now he sees the Lord as he has never seen Him before.

Then the Lord “placed His right hand” on him. That expression doesn’t only mean that the Lord touches him and in that way comforts and encourages him. The touch of the hand has life giving power. To John it is a remembrance that this Judge is His Redeemer. To you it implies the encouragement that you have nothing to fear of Him, Who will judge Christianity, if you know Him and love Him.

That is also said by the Lord. The words “do not be afraid” from His mouth have been a great comfort and encouragement for the believers through all ages. He points to Himself as “the first and the last”. As “the first” He is before everything and above everything and the origin of all things; everything comes from Him. As “the last” He will have the last word. Why should you fear? He is the rock of strength for the wearied feet and for the heaviest burdens of life.

Revelation 1:18. He is also “the living One”. This is the great distinction between the true God and all false gods. He has life in Himself. He is able to give it to others too (John 5:21; 24-26). To be able to do that He has been in death. Therefore John did not need to become like a dead. Death could not hold Him, for in His death He took away everything through which death had power.

Death has lost its power and right and will never ever be able to have any control over Him. He is “alive forevermore”. The victory is complete and eternal. Through His victory He also has full power over “death and … Hades”, which is demonstrated in the possession of “the keys”. The Lord Jesus can dispose of death and Hades as He sees fit (Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:14).

He had not been left in the grave and His body was not allowed to undergo decay (Acts 2:27-28). The glory of the Father has raised Him out of it (Romans 6:4) because the Father was glorified by Christ and His work and in that way all God’s holy demands were fulfilled. On this basis, death and Hades also no longer have authority over anyone who believes (Matthew 16:18).

Revelation 1:19. After the encouraging words of the Lord, John receives the order to write some things. It is an order in three parts. In these three parts you also have the basic division of the book. He had to write “the things which you has seen” and “the things which are” and “the things which will take place after these things”.

1. “The things which you have seen” you already read in the previous verses: the Lord Jesus as a Judge in the middle of the seven lampstands.

2. “The things which are” refer to chapters 2 and 3. There the situation is described of the seven churches in Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation 1:11. That was the present time for John. In the broader sense it is the entire time period of the church on earth, which began at Pentecost in Acts 2 and will end at the rapture of the believers.

3. “The things which will take place after these things” start with chapter 4 (Revelation 4:1) and ends with the last verse of the book. This third part totally lies in the future. Those are things that take place after the things that we still experience in the present dispensation.

Revelation 1:20. Before the Lord Jesus addresses the seven churches He first gives an explanation of “the seven stars” and of “the seven golden lampstands”. This is necessary, for it about a “mystery”. A ‘mystery’ is something that is a secret and is hidden until it is revealed. The mystery is now revealed by the Lord Jesus.

The stars are in His right hand here, as they are in Revelation 1:16. He supports them with His power and shows them as it were in their public relationship with Him. Stars shine in the night. They are a symbol for the angels of the seven churches. The word ‘angel’ literally means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. It can also be used in a broader sense for people. The angels are not cherubs or other spiritual creatures here, but people who are representatives of the churches.

Just like stars lampstands are also meant to spread light in the darkness. The lampstands are a symbol of the whole of each local church, while stars are more a symbol of the individual, out of which the churches exist. You also see that both the individual and the whole are held responsible for spreading the light. In the next two chapters you will see how the Lord Jesus judges the way this responsibility is met.

Now read Revelation 1:13-20 again.

Reflection: What impression does the description of the Lord Jesus make on you?

Revelation 17:12

The Seven Messages

Revelation 2 and 3 are of exceptional interest. Therefore I would like to make some introductory remarks before we deal with the text itself. In these two chapters seven churches are addressed with regard to their actual spiritual condition. It is however clear that the meaning goes beyond what happened then.

It is also clear that you can draw spiritual lessons from their spiritual condition for our time. But these two chapters show in the seven churches also seven sequential stages in church history, from the beginning of the church until its rapture. They contain a prophetic outline of the history of professing Christianity, for the whole book is after all prophecy (Revelation 1:3), thus including both these chapters.

You read here the history of the church as it has behaved and developed on earth through the ages. It is all about its responsibility. On other places in the Bible you read about the church as how it has been formed and seen by God. In that case we speak about the church in accordance to the counsel God, wherein everything is perfect. That is not the side from which the church is presented in this book.

In this book of judgment the house of God, professing Christianity, is judges first (1 Peter 4:17). This judgment takes place in accordance to the way it has fulfilled its duty to be a testimony (a ‘lampstand’) in the world. After the judgment on professing Christianity, from chapter 4 the judgment on Israel and on the world follow.

Briefly said you can see in the sequential letters the following periods in church history:

1. Ephesus (means: lovely) is the time that followed right after the death of the apostles when outwardly a lot of things were in order, but the first love had been abandoned.

2. The time of Smyrna (means: bitterness) corresponds with the time of the Christian persecution by the Romans. Of all these persecutions there were ten that took place under ten Roman emperors. It could be that the tribulation of ‘ten days’ refers to that (Revelation 2:10). That period comprises the end of the second century and the third century.

3. The time of Pergamum (means: fortress) runs from the fourth to the seventh century. It begins with the acceptance of Christendom by emperor Constantine. Christendom became the state religion. It became advantageous to be a Christian.

4. The time of Thyatira (means: incense or sacrifice) covers the period from the seventh to the sixteenth century. In that period the roman-catholic church dominates in the person of the pope over the world, the reverse of Pergamum, where the church sought protection from the world. As a ruling church the roman-catholic church has (for now) come to an end, but as an institution it still exists and it will exist until the coming of the Lord.

5. In the time of Sardis (means: remnant) protestantism originates from and next to the roman-catholic church in the sixteenth century. Also the protestant churches will exist until the coming of the Lord.

6. During the period of protestantism, the period of Philadelphia (means brotherly love) emerged in the nineteenth century. God’s grace causes in dead protestantism a faithful biblical revival movement that separated itself from it. Like roman-catholicism and protestantism, Philadelphia remains until the coming of the Lord.

7. The final stage of church history is characterized by Laodicea (means: people’s government) which also finds its origin in the nineteenth century. The characteristic of Laodicea is lukewarmness. There is the high confession of Philadelphia, but the Lord is outside. We find that spiritual condition in all kinds of churches and denominations that emerged from the revivals of Philadelphia, but which are today often worse off spiritually than Sardis. Also Laodicea remains until the coming of the Lord.

To conclude these introductory remarks on Revelation 2 and 3, let me point out the structure of the letters. It is roughly the same in all the letters: 1. The command: “write”. 2. A characteristic of Christ from chapter 1 followed by: “says this”. 3. The assessment: “I know”. 4. The judgment (except for Smyrna and Philadelphia): “but I have against you”. 5. The exhortation: “repent”. 6. The appeal: “he who has an ear”. 7. The promise: “to him who overcomes”.

It is also remarkable that in the last four messages the promise is first given and then the appeal follows.

Revelation 2:1. The first message is addressed to the church in Ephesus. This church has played a major and typical role in the early church history: 1. Paul has worked there during his third missionary journey for a period of three years (Acts 20:31); 2. he has spoken out his important farewell speech to the elders of Ephesus with a warning for the oncoming decay (Acts 20:17-35); 3. he wrote to them his letter with the highest Christian truths (the letter to the Ephesians); 4. after Paul also Timothy worked there (1 Timothy 1:3); to him Paul wrote his farewell letter about the decay in the last days and about the path of the believer in that time, the second letter to Timothy; 5. and now the Lord addresses Himself to the church in Ephesus as the first of the seven churches.

John does not receive the command to write to the church in Ephesus, but to the angel of the church. As I already remarked earlier, angel means ‘messenger’ or ‘representative’. To think of a literal angel gives more troubles than solutions. As a matter of fact, there is nowhere an example that an angel fails in his duty and even less that an angel is called to repent. The angel represents people who are responsible for the condition in the church.

You could think of persons who have a special responsibility in a church, like elders. But that doesn’t alter the fact that also the rest of the people have a responsibility. Each member of the church is responsible to ensure that the church is faithful to God’s Word and that there is faithfulness in testifying to the truth. You can compare this with the people of Israel and the king who ruled over them. God held the king responsible for the condition of the people, but He did not thereby diminish the guilt of the people.

The Lord Jesus presents Himself here as “the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand”. All stars are in His hand. He “holds” them in His right hand (cf. Revelation 1:16; 20). That indicates power and authority, protection and support to keep it from total ruin, but also to exert control over her. This authority He exerts in all local churches and He checks up on it whether His authority is taken into consideration in the right way. Therefore He walks “in the middle of the seven golden lampstands”. He, as it were, goes around to see whether the lampstands are burning clearly, whether they spread the light which He has kindled.

Now read Revelation 2:1 again.

Reflection: Learn the order of the seven messages by heart and try to relate them to the sequential periods in church history.

Revelation 17:13

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?

Revelation 17:14

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?

Revelation 17:15

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?

Revelation 17:16

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?

Revelation 17:17

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?

Revelation 17:18

Message for Ephesus

Revelation 2:2. The Lord Jesus starts by saying “I know”. That He can say because He is the all-knowing God. It is a great privilege that He knows everything about you (Hebrews 4:12; Amos 4:13). It means that He totally knows you. He is involved with everything you go through, He knows what you think and feel, He knows all your plans (Psalms 139:1-4). If that knowledge makes you restless, there may be something in your life that you do not want Him involved with. Then tell it to Him.

In the church in Ephesus there are many good things. They are mentioned by the Lord first. He always first seeks the good. When Paul writes his letters to the churches he also often mentions things first which are praise worthy before he deals with things that are not good. The Lord says that He knows the “deeds”, the “toil” and the “perseverance” of the church in Ephesus. He sees that they are engaged in good works, that they give their best efforts for it – you can say ‘labor’ is hard work – and that they persevere in it. That is a beautiful appreciation.

But something is missing. You see that if you read what Paul could say of the Thessalonians. With them he could speak of “your work of faith and your labor of love and your steadfastness of hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). It is striking that here in Ephesus their deeds do not stem from the true Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. The heart is not involved (anymore).

Nevertheless the Lord continues to mention the good things e sees with them. They also “cannot tolerate evil men”. Here you see an important characteristic of a church. The evil may reveal itself, but it must not remain. It will be obvious to each sincere Christian that the holiness of the Lord is incompatible with the welcoming evil people as if they are Christians. Evil people are people who refuse to break with sin, either in practice or in doctrine. Such people have always been there and they still are. If strangers present themselves, they will have to be put to the test.

In the beginning false apostles have tried to ruin the church with lies. But the Ephesians did not accept everyone who presented themselves as apostles. As watchful as they were, they tested the spirits of those they did not know (1 John 4:1). They applied the test of the Scripture. This is also the touchstone to be applied to every confession today.

Revelation 2:3. The Lord has more reasons to praise them. The church has not only started well, but it also shows “perseverance”. Perseverance is important if you want to grow in your faith. You have to deal with opposition. You have to learn to endure that. It goes without saying that it is about opposition for the sake of the Name of the Lord Jesus. As soon as you openly come out for His Name’s sake you will notice that.

The Ephesians also “have not grown weary”, which means that they did not think of giving up being a Christian because they began to find it more and more burdensome to fight against the evil or to face resistance for the sake of His Name.

Revelation 2:4. If this is where the description had stopped, you could say that the church in Ephesus, except for one minor issue, was a perfect church. Which church today could compare itself to this? But the ‘minor issue’ that is missing in Revelation 2:2, shows that something essential is missing and that is what the Lord is pointing at when He has to say: “But I have [this] against you.”

What He has against them is “that you have left your first love”. After all the positive mentions, yet this word of exhortation must follow. Amongst all outwardly perceivable and also valuable activities there was something inwardly missing. That is what the Lord has against them. It is ‘only’ one thing, but it determines the real value of all outward activities. The contrast with what is previously said, is therefore great.

Leaving the first love is the origin of all evil in the church, as the following churches show. A lot of various activities may be done in the church, but if the heart is not involved, it misses its real value. A wife may act out of obligation toward a husband and a husband toward a wife and do it in such a way that everything seems to be okay. However, when it is no more than an obligation, while the love of the heart is missing, which was there first, the other will notice that. He or she will then not be satisfied anymore with everything that is done for her or his sake. The Lord always remembers the first love and also reminds His own of it (Jeremiah 2:2).

The Ephesians did not lose the first love, but they had left it. It is an activity. The Lord Jesus cannot stand it that a distance arises between Him and His own. Love can only be satisfied by love. He longs for your love, for your ‘first love’. The first love is the best or highest love. It indicates the quality of this love. It is a love that only seeks the Person of the Beloved and it submits everything else to it. Works are good, they are even necessary, but they are only valuable if they are done out of love for Him.

Revelation 2:5. In His grace the Lord appeals to repent. That starts with a reminder of the beginning of the deviation, how it was before that time (cf. Luke 15:17). In case you have deviated from the Lord you are to return to the moment where the deviation started and you are to confess that. The Ephesians had fallen from the high position which they had learned to know and enjoy by the means of the letter Paul wrote to them.

They can show the proof of their conversion by doing “the deeds” they “did at first”. ‘First deeds’ are deeds that are motivated by the first love. Without the first love there is no mention of first deeds. Only if a church starts to love Christ again, it can be a real testimony, a real light bearer.

If a church does not give Christ that place, He has to come as a Judge and intervene. He will then take away the lampstand of its place, which means that a church ceases to be a bearer of the light it once had, but now has lost. Just as now the darkness of the islam surrounds the places where once the seven churches were located, we observe that removal and darkness in the churches of the West. If they do not continue in the kindness of God they will also be cut off (Romans 11:22).

Revelation 2:6. The Lord always praises what is worthy of praising, also even after threatening to be taking away the lampstand. By doing it this way He puts emphasis on it. It concerns the hatred of a special kind of evil, hateful both to the Lord and to the church. Not the people, but the works are hated. Nicolaitans means ‘overcomers of the people or of the laymen’ which probably indicates that here clericalism, that is, the exercise of power through the clergy, is found.

You find this doctrine when people are appointed by people to do spiritual work, for which they get payment and power is being given to them to command (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 6:5; 1 Peter 5:3), because otherwise the church should not be able to function and disorder would enter. It is a denial of the fact that the church has only one Head and that all believers are ‘brethren’ (Matthew 23:8). The Lord hates this doctrine and practice, because it makes ‘laymen’, ‘accursed ones who do not know the law’ (John 7:49) of those who were bought with a high price. They are kept ignorant, dependent on the clergy that dictates how the Bible must be read.

Revelation 2:7. The Lord speaks to the whole, but in the whole He addresses the individual. The point is that you hear personally what the Spirit says to the churches (plural). Also, what is said to the other churches, is to be taken to heart by you. Notice that it is about what the Spirit says, not about what the church teaches, to which the demand is attached that each member submits himself to the decisions of the church. Each member of the church is called to acknowledge what is of the Spirit.

The Lord concludes with a promise for “him who overcomes”. In each church overcoming has got to do with overcoming the evil that is found in that particular church. Here overcoming is holding on or returning to the first love, right against all abandonment of the first love. The reward is that the Lord Himself will give you to eat of Himself, He is the tree of life. This blessing is indeed for each believer, but here it is promised as a special consolation to everyone who on earth has kept his first love or has returned to it. Such a person has overcome.

If you want to persevere in the first love, it will be a precious promise for you that once you will enjoy Him always and undisturbed. That will happen “in the Paradise of God” (cf. Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4). A paradise is a pleasure garden, a beautiful garden with fruit trees (Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 4:13). The “Paradise of God” is a paradise of which the delights and the splendor can never again be forfeited by the unfaithfulness of man. The overcomer will then find himself in the glory of the resurrection and he will perfectly enjoy what he chose for on earth. Is that your goal too?

Now read Revelation 2:2-7 again.

Reflection: How about your first love for the Lord Jesus?