Revelation 1:15-20

 

(Rev 1:15 KJV)
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

John continues his description of the Lord Jesus Christ. He now focuses on the feet. If you notice the feet are as brass. Brass is normally an alloy made of copper and tin. Here it is believed that the alloy was akin to that of copper and gold. This description of the feet of Jesus gives us an indication that He had gone through the fires of judgment. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also went through the fire of affliction and because of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, they came through victorious.

(Dan 3:25-27 KJV) He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. {26} Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. {27} And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

When we read about the brass feet of the Lord Jesus, He too, came through the fires of Judgment on behalf of His Elect. He suffered the wrath of God for the sake of His people and this is what the metaphor of the brass feet were. The word for “brass” in the Greek carries with it the possibility that it is bronze. Then we are told that His voice was that of many waters.

(Ezek 1:24 KJV) And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

(Ezek 43:2 KJV) And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.

God’s voice in Ezekiel is coming from the temple scene within Ezekiel 40-48 and the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ also comes out from the Temple of Heaven.

(Psa 29:3 KJV) The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.

The Lord’s voice is very mighty and authoritative as one looks at a great waterfall and is awed by its power and the sound that it makes as the waters go over the edge. The Lord’s voice is like that, He speaks with authority and power. No longer is He the humble man who walked the streets of Palestine but is now speaking as the Great I Am in declaring what is to come.

(Rev 1:16 KJV)
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

We are told that the Lord has in His right hand seven stars. In Verse 20, we are told that the stars represent the angels of the seven churches. The word “angel” carries with it the meaning of “messenger” and in this context it may be referring to the church leaders in each congregation. Seven is the number of completeness and although the Lord is sending this letter to the seven churches, it must be understood that it applies to every church assembly which will come into existence until the last day. (Dan 12:3 KJV) And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. The responsibility of the church and of the individual Christian is to send forth the Gospel and those whom God uses to bring them into the Kingdom will be as stars for eternity.

Then we are told of a two-edged sword.

(Heb 4:12 KJV) For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The two-edged sword is the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ being God, whatever He says is the word of God. The two-edged sword of the Word of God is that on one side there is judgment and on the other side is the mercy of salvation. The word “sharp” in describing this two-edged sword carries with it the meaning of “swift or hasty.” This is important because the Lord states that if a church goes apostate, He will remove their candlestick. This warning He gave to the church at Ephesus. (Rev 2:5 KJV) Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. He also gave a similar warning to the church at Sardis. (Rev 3:3 KJV) Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. He will visit Sardis and remove their candlestick too, which will cause them to go into full apostasy and no longer be a local church in the world wide church.

Then we are told that the countenance of Christ was that of the sun when it shines in its strength. As human beings, we can never look directly at the sun because it will blind us and this is why Christians will have to be qualified with the new resurrected bodies to be able to look upon God. The word “strength” in the Greek is the word for “power.” (Exo 33:20 KJV) And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. Moses wanted to see the glory of God but God told him that no one can look upon Him and live because His glory would consume the sin-filled human body. The word “countenance” carries with it the meaning of “face or outward appearance.” This means that not only was Christ’s face glorious but his entire appearance.

(Rev 1:17 KJV)
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Here was John who walked with the Lord on earth who now sees Him in all His heavenly glory. When John sees Him, he falls at His feet as if he was dead. The word “dead” is the word which means “lifeless.” Now a point needs to be made here. In the Charismatic movement, there are many who claim to have been in heaven and seen Jesus and talked with Him. These people are deceived by Satan or they are just plain liars. In all the accounts of these so-called heavenly visits, nothing was ever said about the glory of Christ causing them to fall at His feet. One such account given by Jesse Duplantis who claims he was in heaven for five hours and yet not a thing in that account speaks of the glory of Christ or him falling before the Lord Jesus Christ. John knew Jesus on Earth and yet fell down before Him as dead. Who then can honestly believe these people who claim to have been in heaven and have not experienced what John did? They have been satanically deceived and in turn are deceiving others.

Then the Lord Jesus takes hold of John by His right hand. (Isa 41:10 KJV) Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. The right hand of the Lord is associated with power. Here Jesus was strengthening John and assuring him that he does not need to fear. Once again we are given the eternal moniker of the Lord Jesus as the one who was in the beginning and the end, the first and the last. This description is also given in the Old Testament.

(Isa 41:4 KJV) Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

(Isa 44:6 KJV) Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

(Isa 48:12 KJV) Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Rev 1:18 KJV)
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Here the Lord Jesus Christ confirms to John that He was dead and now is alive. John was at the crucifixion of Christ but here Christ is reaffirming to him that He is the same one who physically died and was resurrected from the dead and never to die again, as He states that He is alive for evermore. The debt for the sins of the Elect has been paid in full. “I am he that liveth” is also a title for God.

(Josh 3:10 KJV) And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

(Isa 37:4 KJV) It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left.

Then we are told that Jesus has the keys of hell and of death. This means that Christ has full authority over this realm. (Isa 22:22 KJV) And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. We read from Isaiah that the Lord Jesus will have supreme authority and that no one will be able to reverse anything He does. (Isa 43:13 KJV) Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? This is a very interesting revelation because we will see that in the book of Revelation there are going to be times when Satan and his demons will be released from Hell to make assault on the church. This means that Christ has complete control over the events which will take place between His first and second comings. The Lord also has reign over death. When a believer dies, He gives them the key to the Kingdom of Heaven so they may enter. The believer need not fear the portals of death since Christ has already gone before them and has opened the kingdom by the key of His death. (Luke 12:32 KJV) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

(Rev 1:19 KJV)
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

Now that John understands that Jesus is now in His kingly glory and rightful estate, John can now wipe away the understanding he had of Jesus when He was a humble man walking the dusty streets of Palestine. Now he sees Jesus as He was before He came to earth to die for the Elect. Now John is told to write. The word “write” is in the imperative mood which means that it is a command given him by King Jesus. John is given a four-fold division to record. He first records what he saw which is in the present chapter. Then He is to write the things which are at present which we will read about in the letters to the seven churches in chapters two and three. Then he is told to write the vision which will encompass the time from the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ, which is found in chapters four to twenty. Then he is also given a vision of the New Heavens and the New Earth in chapters twenty one and twenty two.

(Rev 1:20 KJV)
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Here Jesus is giving John the meaning of two of the mysteries. The seven stars are the angels or messengers of the seven churches which are probably the church leaders, the Pastor in particular because why would the Lord write a letter to an angel? He would just command him. We see that the seven letters to the seven churches are addressed to the angels of these churches. The seven golden candlesticks are the churches themselves. The candlestick is something which provides light to surrounding areas. When a local church becomes apostate, their candlestick is removed which means that Jesus removes that particular assembly from being part of the worldwide church. If the true Gospel is not being preached, then it is no longer a church where Christ is glorified, so it is removed as a surgeon removes a cancerous tumor. The rest of the body is still there but that particular assembly is no longer a part. That local church assembly may still exist but they will no longer be a true Gospel church. We see them today as many of these churches are more concerned about poverty and environmental issues rather than the Gospel. (Isa 8:20 KJV) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.  Isaiah straightly states that if they do not speak of the word of God, then there is no light in them which shows that their candlestick or assembly has been severed from the true churches.