A Daily Walk

John Randall: Today on A Daily Walk, persevering through the pain. You see, John was persevering there on Patmos through his hardships and through his trials. And as a Christian, there is a great need for endurance and perseverance in the days in which we are living. The Bible encourages us to run our spiritual race with endurance, looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. If you are here today and you're thinking about calling it quits or giving up, you can't. It's always too soon to quit.

Guest (Male): When we're going through a difficult time, it can be hard to see past the pain. But if we look a little deeper to the purpose, we'll see God is accomplishing a great work. Today on A Daily Walk, we open the book of Revelation. In Chapter 1, John receives his first vision, and it's a vision of the glorified Christ. It happens while he's in exile on the Isle of Patmos. Here is Pastor John Randall with what the Apostle John saw and heard.

John Randall: If you would open up with me now to the book of Revelation. It's the last book of the Bible. Go to Genesis and turn right, and don't stop till you get to the end. Revelation, chapter 1, with a message entitled "The King of Glory." Beginning in verse 9, Revelation chapter 1: "I, John, both your brother and companion in 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."

The book of Revelation gives us a prophetic portrayal of future events. It describes the coming judgment of God upon a Christ-rejecting world. It discloses some of the wonders and the glories of heaven. And yet, for all that it reveals, Revelation is primarily an unveiling presentation of Jesus Christ as we have never seen him before. And within the book itself, there is a promise of blessing for all who will read it, who will hear it, and keep it.

At the time that the Apostle John wrote this letter, he was the last living apostle. His brother James had been killed with a sword by King Herod. Church history tells us that Peter had been executed, being crucified upside down, for he did not feel that he was worthy to be crucified like Jesus. And then the Apostle Paul had been beheaded by Nero. And now, three decades later, the church was once again suffering tremendous persecution under the Roman Empire and the emperor named Domitian.

After a failed attempt to burn him in oil, Domitian exiled the Apostle John to a small island about 10 miles long, 6 miles wide, located in the Aegean Sea southwest of Ephesus, called Patmos. And while there, the aged apostle, now in his 90s, was forced to labor in the mines in the midst of extremely harsh conditions. The church was hated politically, socially, economically, and religiously. The church was struggling to survive.

However, it was in the midst of one of the most difficult seasons in his life that John received the most powerful revelation of Jesus he had ever seen. And as we pick up in verse 9, John begins by establishing a personal connection with his readers. He says, "I, John, both your brother and your companion in tribulation and persecution and patience of Jesus Christ."

This is the first of three instances in the book of Revelation where the Apostle John uses the personal pronoun "I, John." In the Gospel of John, he refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." In his three epistles, he refers to himself as "the elder." Yet in Revelation, he says, "I'm your brother and I'm your companion." Even though John had ministered alongside of Jesus during his earthly ministry, he didn't see himself as being above the people or superior to them in any way.

He saw himself as a member of the same household of faith, and therefore, he refers to himself as their brother in the Lord. But he also refers to himself as a companion in suffering. The church was suffering and John was suffering too. He wasn't insincerely writing from some ivory tower saying, "Oh, I know how you feel." Actually, he knew how they were feeling. There was a camaraderie, a mutual understanding that was shared through the circumstances that they were experiencing. There was a fellowship of suffering that was mutual.

John said, "I'm also your companion in the kingdom." And of course, he wasn't referring to any worldly kingdom like the Roman Empire, but a spiritual kingdom that would come at the end of the age when Jesus Christ would rule and reign with a rod of iron. He's talking about the kingdom of God. And by the way, that is the one kingdom that will last forever: the kingdom of God.

And also, he said, "I'm your companion in patience." And the word for patience here describes a hope of faith which brings endurance. It literally means to remain under. It speaks of patiently enduring difficulties without giving up. John was persevering there on Patmos through his hardships and through his trials. And as a Christian, there is a great need for endurance and perseverance in the days in which we are living.

The Bible encourages us to run our spiritual race with endurance, looking unto Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. If you are here today and you're thinking about calling it quits or giving up, you can't. It's always too soon to quit. John could say to these suffering saints, "I'm with you. I know what you're going through." There was a personal connection that they had. Oh, but there was also a purposeful intention that God had.

John recognized that there was a purpose for what the Lord allowed him to go through in his life. He said, "I'm here on this island for two reasons: first, for the word of God, and secondly, for the testimony of Jesus Christ." There was a greater purpose for being sentenced to this island of Patmos and working in those mines. John was there for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He was there to receive from the Lord and then to write to the seven churches the word of the Lord.

The Lord placed John on that island where he was isolated from fellowship, where he was disconnected from his community. It may have been one of the loneliest times in his life. But if John was never sent to Patmos, he would have never received his revelation. There was a greater purpose intended by God. And this is something, friends, that you will observe throughout the Scriptures with many of God's servants.

Ezekiel, for example, received his revelation while in exile. Jeremiah received a similar revelation. Paul penned most of his epistles that were powerful and inspiring from a prison cell. And there is a lesson for us in this. You may feel exiled, you may feel isolated, even lonely at times. Yet it's in those moments when you want to dig in and begin to really seek the Lord, to be more in tune with him, looking for him, hearing from him.

So often on the heels of hardship can come tremendous revelation: a revelation first of all about yourself, secondly a revelation about the circumstances, but most importantly, a greater revelation of Jesus. The Apostle John could see Jesus in the midst of his circumstances. I don't know what you're going through today or how you identify with this passage, but listen, the Lord's in the midst of your circumstances.

He has a greater purpose intended that you might not realize at this moment. It's amazing how hindsight, they say, is 20/20. You can look back and you can see the hand of God throughout your life, even in the most painful of processes. God is working, he is molding, he is shaping you, he is making you into what he's called you to be. And it's not easy, but there's no shortcuts to walking with Jesus Christ. This is no playground, this is a battleground, friend.

Now John, having identified with his readers compassionately, is given the first of eight visions that he receives in Revelation. And in verse 10, he mentions his present condition when he received this. He says in verse 10, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.'"

When John says, "I was in the Spirit," it's actually used four times in the book of Revelation, and it's not a reference to being filled with the Holy Spirit—although John was most definitely filled with the Holy Spirit of God. The phrase "in the Spirit" refers to the supernatural experience where John was carried to a plane of perception that was beyond the normal senses into a state where God could reveal supernatural elements of this book.

In the Old Testament, we see a similar experience that Ezekiel the prophet had, where he was sitting in one place and then it says that the Spirit caught him away or brought him to another place where he could see things that weren't observable just with the natural eye. John says that he was taken to this place, this vision was revealed to him on the Lord's Day. Now some people have differing opinions as to what the Lord's Day refers to.

There are some that suggest the Lord's Day is synonymous with the Old Testament phrase "the day of the Lord," referring to the time of tribulation. Others suggest that the Lord's Day is simply a reference to the first day of the week, which was Sunday, today, when the church would gather. Why did the church gather on Sunday? Because that was the day that Jesus rose again from the dead. And so every day since then, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, this is it. Every day is the Lord's Day, but they would call it the Lord's Day. You say, "Well, what do you believe, John?" I believe it was the Lord's Day, that's what it says here.

But John says when it was the Lord's Day, he heard a loud voice behind him like a trumpet saying, "I'm the Alpha, the Omega, the First and the Last, and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia." John tells us that the voice that he heard was loud; it was like a trumpet. 82 times, folks, 82 times the words "loud" or "great" are used in Revelation. This book is loud.

And the words spoken, "I am the Alpha, the Omega, the First and the Last," who's speaking to John? This is none other than Jesus. Jesus is speaking to John at this moment, and Jesus gives John instructions to write what he will see and then to send it to the seven churches that are in Asia. This command to write down what he would see is repeated 12 times. There are 12 times in the book of Revelation where the Lord says, "Write this down. Take a note, write this down. Make sure you write this down so that the churches could understand."

John was in a place where he could hear from the Lord. God speaks to us today, primarily through his Word. He speaks to us through circumstances. He can even use other people. The question is not so much whether God is speaking; the question is whether you're listening. Jesus would often say, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches." Are you listening to what's being said? Are your ears open today to the truth of the Gospel? Are you listening?

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." The Apostle John hears the voice of Jesus, and he receives instructions from Jesus. But now he sees a vision of Jesus. Look at verse 12: "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man."

John hears the voice, he hears the instructions. He immediately turns his attention to where the voice is coming from, and when he looks, he sees several things. First of all, he says, "I saw seven golden lampstands." Now in the Old Testament, Moses was instructed by the Lord to build and construct a seven-branched lampstand for the tabernacle, to be placed in the holy place in order to give light.

Yet the word used for these seven golden lampstands isn't describing that lampstand. It's actually describing the portable lamps where you would have—they were made of clay and there would be oil placed in it, and the lamps would have a wick and they would burn. That's what he's talking about. You say, "Well, what do the lampstands represent?" When you read through the book of Revelation, there are times when it doesn't tell you what it represents. You're left to go back to the Old Testament and make the connections if they're there.

But we know what these lampstands represent because if you look down at verse 20 of Chapter 1, look at what it says: the lampstands which you saw represent the churches. The lampstands were a representation, they were symbolic of the churches: the seven churches, seven lamps, seven churches. It's an interesting symbol for the church, and I would say an appropriate symbol because it's light. That's what the church is supposed to be in the midst of a dark world.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," and then Jesus told his disciples, "You are the light of the world." He said you're like a city that's set upon a hill that cannot be hidden. Jesus said nobody goes and purchases a lamp and puts it under their bed; they put it on the lampstand so that everybody can see its light. As the world grows increasingly dark, the church needs to shine increasingly brighter in the midst of this darkness.

Notice also the fuel for the individual lamps. Every single lamp that was to burn was provided with oil, and that oil symbolically throughout the Scriptures is the work of the Holy Spirit. You might have a lamp and no oil, then you've got no light. If the church just has a lamp and has a great building or a great this or a great that, but there's no Holy Spirit involved, what do you have? Nothing. You don't have any light. We need the consistent power and flowing-through of the Holy Spirit within the church so that the church can burn bright.

I wonder how we're doing today as a light in this world. John sees the golden lampstands; they represent the seven churches. But then he also sees the Son of Man. John sees Jesus, and he gives us a description of ten characteristics revealed. What you're going to discover is that there is a noticeable change in Revelation in the description of Jesus as compared to the four Gospels. This is a picture of what Jesus is right now: no longer a humble servant nailed to a cross, coming in weakness, but a sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This is what John sees at this moment.

Notice it says where Jesus is when John sees him. Verse 13: he's in the midst of the seven lampstands. If the lampstands represent the churches and Jesus is in the midst of the churches, what a comfort that is to us today, to know that even though the church was being persecuted, even though the church was going through difficult times, Jesus was in the midst of the churches. What is he observing in the midst of the churches? What is he seeing as he makes his way through the church?

I'm so thankful today that Jesus is in the midst of his church. By the way, it's his church; it's not our church, it's his church. We need to remember that. He's in the midst of us. He said, "I'll never leave you or forsake you." In Matthew 28:20, he said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He's in the midst of the church.

And then in verse 13, John says, "In the midst of the seven lampstands, one like"—notice this title here, you might want to underline it—"Son of Man." Within the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man over 80 times. It was the title that Jesus actually used for himself most frequently in the Gospel narrative. And although in Revelation, it's only used twice, here it is the first time.

It's important to understand this phrase, "Son of Man," is a prophetic reference from the Old Testament book of Daniel in Chapter 7. In Daniel chapter 7, it's the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events recorded anywhere in the Old Testament, by the way. Daniel sees a series of visions and dreams that will point to four great world empires that will rise and fall and eventually lead to the kingdom of God that will last forever.

In Daniel chapter 7, make a note of verses 13 and 14. This is what Daniel said: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. And his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."

Daniel prophetically states there in chapter 7 the title "Son of Man" was a messianic title. Jesus is the one who will be given dominion and glory and a kingdom that will last forever. Therefore, when Jesus used this phrase concerning himself, "Son of Man," he was assigning the prophecy to himself. The Jews of that era would have been intimately familiar with that phrase and to whom it referred. Jesus, in other words, was proclaiming himself to be the Messiah.

The second meaning of the phrase "Son of Man" points to the humanity of Jesus: his deity and his humanity, fully God and yet fully man. When the Lord spoke to the prophet Ezekiel, he referred to him 93 times as "son of man." What did that mean? It meant he was a son of man. He was a man. It spoke of his humanity. Jesus was fully God and yet fully man. John chapter 1, verse 1 tells us this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Jesus, equal with God, is God. And then in John chapter 1, verse 14, John said this: "And the Word"—that is Jesus—"became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Fully God and yet fully man. And then John would write in his first epistle, fourth chapter, second verse: "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God."

Throughout the Gospels, we see the humanity of Jesus on display. The purpose of Jesus coming in deity and humanity was in order that he might save his creation. Jesus came to the earth in order to be the savior of mankind, to save us from sin and separation from God in eternity in a place called hell.

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall on why Jesus came so long ago. And this is A Daily Walk. It's part of a study in Revelation. Hear it again online at adailywalk.org or at oneplace.com, or download the Calvary South OC app so you can start receiving biblical encouragement on your mobile devices on a regular basis. Have you been helped by the teaching of God's Word here on A Daily Walk? If so, we'd sure love to know about it. You can email us at adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com. And let us know how we can pray for you too.

We've picked out an excellent resource that we believe will really help you in your daily walk. It's Oswald Chambers' classic, "My Utmost for His Highest." For a cost of $18, you'll receive the updated language gift edition. Whether it's in a small group or in your own personal study, you'll enjoy and benefit from one of the most enduring bestsellers of our time. It's rich with spiritual insights and life-changing perspectives for each day of the year. Again, you can reach us at 877-242-0828. That's 877-242-0828, or go to adailywalk.org on the web.

You know, each day at adailywalk.org, we release the A Daily Walk Devotional video. Be encouraged as you study the Word with Pastor John each day: short enough to watch on your lunch break or before you head out the door in the morning. Again, you'll find it at adailywalk.org. Thanks again for listening. We'll meet you back here tomorrow for A Daily Walk, when Pastor John Randall picks up where we left off in Revelation. This program is brought to you by Calvary South OC and made possible through your generous support.