Revelation -- Adjusting your vision after being left behind
John’s Vision of Christ
1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Yes, the tribulation will be bad, but there are many believers who have gone through tribulation. John was a companion in the suffering, all the apostles were martyred, the church age is filled with martyrs. But whether they were tortured and killed or not everyone who is a follower of the Lord had to take up their cross and follow Him.
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
This would be another good opportunity to repent. Where were you on the Lord's day? Were you in the Spirit, or were you at a football game or some other worldly activity? Every time we repent we become more and more aligned with Jesus. That is the goal. We are being trained. If you had allowed the Lord to train you before then you wouldn't be here now, but that is water under the bridge. The fact is that the Lord trained all those who were raptured and now you have a chance to be under the same training, so turn around and see the voice that is speaking to you.
11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
That is right, believers are not the dead sea. That was a mistake too many Christians make and probably the reason you are still here. We receive from the Lord and we share what we have received with the other believers. You read the word of God and share with others what the Lord speaks to you.
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
If you haven't seen this before now it is time to see it. We are priests to God, that means we take care of the Temple and this begins with the lampstand. You need light before you can do anything else. Now notice this is not saying that the seven lampstands are all wrong and need to be like this one lampstand. The Lord is moving throughout the earth in a multitude of ways. One person has a burden to work in a soup kitchen, another in a prison ministry, another is a street evangelist, another is writing a blog. Every one of us is a servant of the Lord and is responding to the Lord's call on their life. They do not need me or you to tell them what to do, they answer to the Lord. If you try and tell other believers what they should or should not be doing you are taking the role of the Lord, that is rebellion.
13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
It is essential that you see that the Lord is in the midst of the lampstands. We are His coworkers, we follow His lead and we do what He commands us to do. Gold is representative of the pure word of God which is the truth. If you are going to be a priest to God make sure you have a golden sash, the word of God, around your chest.
14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
You may be a child in the Lord, all the more reason to have your head covered with the Lord's speaking. He is the one with the wisdom of the ages. A wool head covering is very warm, white as snow is very clean, no stain of sin. If you are firmly underneath the Lord's head covering no one can despise you. They have to go through the Lord before they can get to you. You have been left behind, so forget who you were because regardless of how big and great you might think you were people will simply say "if you were so big why were you left behind". So humble yourself beneath the mighty hand of God.
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.
Once you stop thinking about yourself you can appreciate those feet like bronze glowing in the furnace. You, like the friends of Daniel, will be thrown into the furnace and you have another friend who is going to be in there with you. Perhaps you thought you were so wise that you were able to avoid the furnace while all those obnoxious Christians were foolish. Well, the Lord was in the furnace with them and now they have been raptured to the heavens. So if you are going to follow the Lord you have no option but to shod your feet with the gospel of peace and follow Him into that furnace. They will threaten you to shut up and not speak in Jesus name. But you have shoes that are like bronze, glowing in the furnace, their pathetic threats are not going to stop you. Now you can also hear the sound of rushing waters. You are not alone. There are other wonderful believers in there with you. Don't doubt them thinking "hey, if you were a faithful saint you would have been raptured". Instead say "hallelujah, you have repented just like I did". Because when you are in the furnace nothing sounds better than the sound of rushing water.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
The seven stars are the messengers of the church. You need a word, it is in the Lord's hand, you need a word that is specific for what you are going through or about to go through, it is in His hand. And, He has a sharp, double edged sword. He has it, not you. Don't try to be clever, or cute, or witty. He has the light, and it is the light of life. During the tribulation they will try to make it look hopeless, bleak, dark. The fact that you are filled with light and life and joy and hope will be a powerful testimony to them that Jesus is Lord.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
You thought when you were left behind you were dead. Well guess what, Jesus was dead too, and now look, He is alive for ever and ever. You were afraid because you thought you weren't supposed to go through the tribulation. Well, that isn't true, Jesus is the first and the last. Some are first, some are last, but all of them can be filled with Jesus and express Him. He is the one that holds the keys to death and Hades, not Satan, not the Antichrist. Those guys are frauds, they are miserable and misery loves company. The only thing worse than going to hell is being the only one that goes to hell. Satan knows he is going to hell, he wants a consolation prize of taking others with him.
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.