John's Revelation Of The Church

An Exiled Senior Citizen

2 John 1 NLT - "This letter is from John, the elder."
3 John 1 NLT - "This letter is from John, the elder."

In 95 AD, the twelve original apostles had been reduced to one remaining man - the Apostle John. Now 90 years old, John had outlived nearly everyone who had seen Jesus' earthly ministry. He had seen one brother after another martyred - James, Peter, Matthew, Thomas - each of them laying down their life for the faith. And now John was left alone as the elder, the preeminent voice in the church. 

After leaving Jerusalem, John set up his ministry headquarters in Ephesus, a major port city, from which he oversaw many other churches in the region...six of which were also located in other major cities:
 - Smyrna
 - Pergamum
 - Thyatira
 - Sardis
 - Philadelphia
 - Laodicea
With Ephesus being a major hub and crossroads in the region of Asia Minor, John's oversight could easily reach each of these cities and help the leadership there.

Because of John's influence in the church, he was a target of persecution. He was brought on trial before the Roman Emperor himself. While standing before Emperor Domitian, John was sentenced to death by being boiled in oil. A vat of oil was brought up to a boil in front of a crowd of people. Soldiers then dropped the old apostle into the oil...and nothing happened. John was left standing in the oil completely unharmed. This was the power of God on full display, to the shame of Rome itself!

No doubt, the emperor was outraged at this public embarrassment. But, Domitian knew better than to try killing John again. If another execution attempt failed, it would influence even more people to listen to John. So the emperor decided to just make John disappear - and banished him to the desert island of Patmos.

Revelation 1:9 - "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

When it comes to Patmos, the term "Desert Island" is extremely accurate. The entire island was a barren, desolate landscape. There was almost no vegetation, very little fresh water, and no food sources. Everything that the prisoners needed to live had to be imported from the mainland. Patmos was where political prisoners went to vanish.

But God had a plan for John on this island!

Vision Of Jesus

Revelation 1:10 - "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day..."

Even though John was an old man who was thrown away to die - the man spent no time complaining or feeling sorry for himself. While he was trapped one of the worst situations a 90-year-old man could face, what was he doing? John was in the Spirit, spending time with the Lord!

Suddenly, while John was lost in the spirit, he heard a voice. Verses 10-11 continues: "and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying 'I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last". 

Even though the voice he heard resounded like a trumpet call, I'm sure there was also something familiar about it. After all, John had heard that voice as a young man - when it called him to follow. That voice gave John the nickname "Son of thunder". And John was the only disciple at the cross who heard that voice cry out "It is finished!" I'm sure that John knew that voice...even as glorious and majestic as it was at now.

When John turned to look, this is what he saw:
Revelation 1:12-16 - "And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength."

Amazing! Clearly, Jesus looked different that John remembered! Whatever John was expecting to see when he turned, he saw so much more. The sight was so overpowering, that John collapsed at Jesus' feet like a dead man. He was unable to do anything until Jesus laid His hand on him and revived him. Once John came back to his senses, Jesus gave him an assignment; "Write down what I'm going to show you, and send it to the seven churches." (Jesus actually specifically named each of the seven churches; starting with John's home in Ephesus.)

The Mystery Of The Local Church

Maybe this is obvious, but let me point something out: John did not see Jesus first. In verse 10, John said "I heard a voice". Then in verse 12, John said, "I turned around to see the voice, and I saw seven golden lampstands." After he saw the lampstands, then he saw Jesus standing in the midst of them.

In fact, we know why Jesus was among the lampstands. Verse 13 says that Jesus was wearing a long garment - this is specifically a priestly garment. You see, these weren't just any lampstands, these were seven replicas of the golden lampstand. As a Jewish man, John was well aware of what he saw.
 - This is the lampstand that Moses was instructed to make in Exodus 25:31-40.
 - This is the lampstand that was positioned in the Tabernacle, and then in the Temple.
 - This is the lampstand that the priests would tend to and keep burning.
And that is why Jesus was moving among them, dressed like a priest. He was tending and keeping the lamps lit in the same way the High Priest tended to the lampstand in the Temple.

What were these lampstands? Why were they so important that John saw them first? Why was Jesus Himself carefully tending to them? Thankfully, we don't have to guess about it - Jesus tells us.

Revelation 1:20 - "The mystery of the seven stars that 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 which you saw are the seven churches."

Did you see that?  Jesus said, "the seven lampstands...are the seven churches." The lampstands weren't symbols of THE church - meaning the global family of believers. No...it was the local churches that John oversaw  that were represented by the golden lampstands. And by using the number seven (the biblical number for totality and completion), I believe that the symbol of the golden lampstand also applies to every true local church. 

How important then must the local church be to Jesus? They were the very first thing He revealed to John in the book of Revelation. And Jesus chose to reveal Himself as a priest, walking among the churches and tending to them. And with the revelation of the stars in His hand...we can even see that there are specific angelic assignments to the local churches. 

Here's a major reason why I believe the local church is so important: Just look at the sequence of events that John followed. First, He heard Jesus' voice and then he turned to find it. As he searched for the voice, then John saw the churches (lampstands). Then, John found Jesus among the churches. 

Matthew 18:20 NIrV - "Where two or three people gather in My name, I am there with them."

I firmly believe this is often how the world finds Jesus.
First, they hear His voice calling them. Then, they turn...this is salvation. After that, they start searching for the voice. Logically, if an unbeliever or a new convert is searching for the voice of Christ, where would they think to look? Would they not come to us, the church? Pastors, let me encourage you: If they come to your church, "looking for the Voice", then make sure they can see Jesus in your midst!

Ultimately, it's from the symbol of the lampstand that we can see the most complete revelation of the local church. Now we know that every detail of the lampstand's construction has an application in our churches. As we move forward in this series, we're going to find out that the golden lampstand is actually God's blueprint for the local church.