1:10-11 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” ～ John tells us that he “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” There are two things of importance stated here: One, that he was in an altered state of mind, for, “in the Spirit” is referencing a state of spiritual exultation: one thinks of Peter’s “trance” in Acts 10:10; and two, that he was aware of his position in time, i.e. “on the Lord’s day.” John, whose feet were planted on the terra firma of Patmos (a certain place) and on the first day of the week (a certain time) was in a total other dimension—spiritually. Two realities were merging, two universes were folding into each other on the windswept, rock-strewn Patmos, where all was barren except the spirit and eyes of the seer, which were pregnant with prophetic mysteries, ready to be birthed into the life of the bride of Christ.
It is appropriate that this apocalypse would be given on the Lord’s day. The term “Lord’s day” had become the technical term for the first day of the week. It was so called because Christ arose from the dead on the first day; the birth of the Church was on the first day; the day of Pentecost was on the first day of the week (see Lev 23:15-16 cf. Acts 2:1) so the first day of the week was the prearranged day (by God) for the Church’s birth. Because of all this the Christians chose the first day for corporate worship (Acts 20:7) and the assigned day for receiving the collection of the saints (1 Cor 16:2). It has been suggested by those who would place all of the Apocalypse in the very end of history that by “the Lord’s day” John means “the day of Judgement.” This is not likely because, if true, it would remove ALL of the vision from the churches history and assign them to a date far into John’s future; such a view would contradict: 1:1 “shortly come to pass; 1:3 “the time is at hand;” 22:7 “Behold, I come quickly; 22:10 “for the time is at hand;” 22:20 “Surely, I come quickly;” but most importantly 1:19 “Write the things which thou hast seen (past), and the things which are (present), and the things shall be hereafter (future).
“And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” ～ There is a (whether conscious or unconscious, I cannot tell) paralleling of this passage with Exodus 19:14-19. In the case of Moses at Sinai, as well as with John on Patmos, both are receiving instructions from God in behalf of God’s people (see Heb 12:19); in both accounts there is the “trumpet” and “voice.” The “Voice of God” is a theophany (if it can truly be called a theophany, for it is more of a tabernacled presence) introduced early in the Scripture, in Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day;...”
In that the Voice (theophany) is identified as Christ, in v11, is significant. In the Sinai motif, the Voice of Jesus is the parallel to the Voice of Yahweh (YHWH).
The trumpet is heard in other eschatological settings from the Exodus passage (Ex 19:14-19), and has the shophar—a curved ram’s horn—in view. Through this association throughout Scripture, the shophar has occupied a prominent place in both Jewish and Christian corporate worship.
“What you see, write in a book ...” ～ The “book” John is instructed to write is actually a papyrus or parchment scroll. If papyrus, it was made from reeds; if parchment, from sheep skin.
“Send it to the seven churches which are in Asia ...” ～ The book was to be sent to the “seven churches which are in Asia.” We have already spoken of them in the commentary on v4, and will have occasion to examine them further in ch’s 2 and 3. With that in view our time spent on them here will be limited. It can be pointed out, however, that the churches, here mentioned for the first time, were not the only, or the most prominent, churches in Asia; e.g. Troas, Colossae, and the churches of Galatia were also in the area. Because of this it is assumed that these particular seven were chosen for their specific circumstances. The Spirit’s choice of seven particular congregations because of their particular characteristics, cannot be overlooked as being meaningful. Interest is further aroused by the order of the list, and the physical locations. As has already been pointed out, they are arranged in a rough circle in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey); beginning with Ephesus (if one thinks of a sundial) located at about 7 o’clock and ending with Laodicea at about 5 o’clock. (The list of the seven churches are given here as Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.) One cannot help but notice that if the arrangement is viewed as a timepiece, i.e. sundial, with the churches marking points of time in a progression that Ephesus would be indicated as the sun would rise in the morning; the shadow of the dial would travel from church to church, just as they are listed throughout the day and arrived at Laodicea at about sundown. What is the Holy Spirit saying? The Spirit is most likely saying that the characteristic of these churches speak of the profile of the kingdom of God through the progression of time; I mean, the whole of the church “day” or age. Therefore, the conditions of the seven churches at the Revelation’s writing would be indicative of the church’s condition throughout history. Moreover, the number seven is used by the Spirit to indicate a complete, i.e. a total history of the Church. The seven churches represent but one church just as the seven Spirits of God represent but one Spirit of God (4:4 cf. Eph 4:5).
It is this writer’s firm opinion that another, and most important, reason for the choice of these particular seven churches, to the exclusion of others, is their mirrored earthly image of the seven stars of Pleiades—of which more will be said later. There is a one-to-one connection between the Seven Stars of Pleiades and the Seven Churches. Notice how the chart above establishes this point.
Therefore, in the survey (for John was told to write what he saw) of the seven churches we are given the first of what is to be seven apocalyptic visions.
Apostolically Speaking,
☩ Jerry L Hayes
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The Apocalypse, is the introduction to the biblical book of Revelation. Here Bishop Hayes also gives a verse by verse commentary of the first three chapters of the Apostle John's Revelation of Jesus Christ, covering the letters addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The Bible student will thrill at the Bishop's easy evangelistic style of presenting deep and unique truths never before published. In this study a wealth of information will be shared with the disciples of Christ on each verse of this great manuscript.
Own your personal copy of this enlightening work by ordering at the link provided here:https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Introduction-Epistles-Seven-Churches/dp/1686423152/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bishop+Jerry+Hayes%2C+Apocalypse&qid=1568308793&s=books&sr=1-1
The Apocalypse, is the introduction to the biblical book of Revelation. Here Bishop Hayes also gives a verse by verse commentary of the first three chapters of the Apostle John's Revelation of Jesus Christ, covering the letters addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The Bible student will thrill at the Bishop's easy evangelistic style of presenting deep and unique truths never before published. In this study a wealth of information will be shared with the disciples of Christ on each verse of this great manuscript.
Own your personal copy of this enlightening work by ordering at the link provided here:https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Introduction-Epistles-Seven-Churches/dp/1686423152/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bishop+Jerry+Hayes%2C+Apocalypse&qid=1568308793&s=books&sr=1-1
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