In The Word
Read: Revelation 1:9-20
The Patmos Vision
9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Notice in verse nine how John, the beloved of Christ, had to endure suffering and persecution just like everyone else. The reason for this tribulation was because of his faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of God’s Word. Many Christians today feel like they should be immune to any kind of suffering. Well, that’s not true Christianity. Just as the world hated and rejected Jesus when He walked the earth, so will they reject those of us walking like Him. If someone is not having pushback from the world, maybe it’s because they’re not walking enough like Christ. Anyone who desires to live godly in this world will suffer persecution.
Notice that our Lord was not visiting John solely for John’s sake but for the sake of seven local churches. Many people desire for a visitation from the Lord for personal enhancement. However, the Lord desires to enhance His whole body, not just one part. Even in the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father,” “Give us,” “Forgive us,” “Lead us,” “Deliver us”), we are taught to be concerned for the whole not just for ourselves.
Notice also how our Lord was standing in the midst of the seven local churches. Many Christians today reject organized churches. What they need to understand is that it was God, not man, that set up and established the local church. To reject the idea of the local church is to reject what is of God.
Faith is not only a personal encounter, but also a corporate endeavor. When we stand with Christ, His teachings and His church persecution will always be a part of life.