Sunday School Notes: Revelation 1:17b-20

^17b but he placed his right [hand] upon me saying, “Do not fear; I am the first and the last ¹⁸ and the one who lives, and who was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever. Also I have the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Write, therefore, what you have seen, and what [things] are, and what [things] are about to happen after these things. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon my right [hand] and the seven lamp stands of gold–the seven stars are angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are [the] seven churches.

Jesus appears to John in a dazzling vision that causes him to fall at his feet “as though dead.” Last time, I questioned whether this could be compared to a catatonic trance. Someone in the group rightly pointed out that even if it was a trance, that doesn’t mean this traumatic reaction can’t be God’s means of communicating the message of Revelation. I’m still not convinced this is a trance, given the fact that the vision already began back in verse 12, but it is good to remember that God can use dreams and trances for His purposes. I would caution, however, that this is by no means normative, and we shouldn’t assume that God will always speak to us in these ways.

The Lord then puts his right hand upon John and tells him not to be afraid. John had previously described Jesus as having seven stars in his right hand. If there’s any doubt that he was speaking figuratively, here’s the proof, since his right hand doesn’t seem to be holding anything now. Similarly, Jesus is able to speak to John despite the fact he is described having a sword coming out his mouth. I don’t think we can begin to know how John “saw” the stars and the sword, but they were shown to him to communicate symbolically the authority of Christ, as we discussed before. Was the placing of his right hand on John meant to be an act of commissioning, like laying hands on someone before they go off to the mission field? Jesus is about to reiterate his command to John to write the things in the vision, so there is perhaps a sense of commissioning. As I read the passage, though, I see John flat on his face in terror at Christ’s feet. Jesus tells him not to be afraid, a command which seems impossible for John to obey given his current state of mind. When Jesus places his right hand on John, bearing in mind the right hand is symbolic of power and authority, John is enabled to obey the command and not be afraid. He can get back up on his feet and do what Christ wants him to do. We see something similar in Daniel 8:18, 10:10, and Ezekiel 2:1, where the prophet has a divine encounter, is rendered unable to stand, and is empowered by God to get up. This is consistent with the way we see God operate in our lives: He commands us to do something we can’t do, and gives us the ability to do it.

Jesus then provides John with a reason not to be afraid. He says “I am the first and the last, and the one who lives, and who was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever.” It’s interesting to note that Jesus uses the phrase “I am” as a metaphorical description of himself (e.g., “I am the door,” “I am the good shepherd”) seven times in John’s Gospel (6:35, 48; 8:12, 9:5; 10:9; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). Here Jesus uses that same “I am” formula, but this time in an unveiled declaration of his divine status, since these exact words are used by God in Isaiah 44:6-8. The reference to being dead and now alive is a roundabout way of telling John that he is looking at Jesus, his risen Lord, since John was a witness to the resurrection (John 20:4-5). But there’s more to what Jesus is saying than simply stating who he is. The claim to live forever is not something a mere mortal can claim. Along with “I am the first and the last,” this is another proclamation of deity. Also, notice the tenses used: “I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever.” In the Greek, John doesn’t use the verbs “to die” and “to live,” rather he uses the aorist form of the verb “to be” along with the noun “dead,” and the present form of the verb “to be” with the participle “living.” So he’s saying “I was at one point in time a dead man, but now I am a living person, and I continue to live for ever.” This is not merely an affirmation that what John witnessed at the empty tomb was real, but it is an encouragement that John’s Lord is a living Lord. He has conquered death. So John need not be afraid, neither of the vision, nor of death.

The fact that Jesus has conquered death isn’t the only reason why John (and all those who trust in Christ) need not be afraid. Jesus goes on to say, “I have the keys of death and of Hades.” The Jewish commentaries on the Old Testament and other rabbinic writings used the image of “keys” as a sign of God’s sovereign control, like the guardian or gatekeeper of death. In the same way, Jesus is saying that his authority extends over death itself–he has power over death, and even control over it. “Hades” is often translated “Hell,” but we need to remember that in Greek thought it had a much broader definition: the abode of the dead, or “the grave.” Whether we translate “Hades” as “the grave” or “Hell” really depends upon context, and here I think the context clearly points to the more general sense. This isn’t saying Jesus simply has the keys to Hell, but he has the keys to the grave–not just who dies (death), but where they go when they die (the grave). No-one enters the grave without Jesus’ say-so, and he determines where they end up. This strong affirmation of the Reformed doctrine of election is to give comfort to John, his readers, and to us. We may face persecution, suffering, and even death, but know that our Lord and Savior who gave his life for us holds the keys to death and the grave. We won’t go there unless he says so, and he will determine our ultimate destiny. Death is not arbitrary, and not without purpose.

In verse 19, Jesus restates the command for John to write down the vision. There are three parts to the command: write what he has seen, write the “things that are,” and write “the things that are about to happen after these things.” This would seem to support a chronological view of Revelation, and indeed that’s how many people take this verse. They understand the things John has seen to refer to 1:1-1:19, the things that are to refer to chapters 2 and 3 (the letters to the churches), and the things about to happen as everything from chapter 4 onward. As I’ve indicated, there are certainly aspects of Revelation that speak of the end times, and there are things that John saw at that time, so we can’t deny some sort of chronological order. However, the tendency is to see most, if not all, of chapters 4-22 as end times, certainly not happening “shortly” (1:1), or “about to happen.” Also, we need to remember that this is timeless Scripture, and what John wrote was initially for the churches in Asia Minor. If most of what he wrote was for a generation of believers that would live 2,000 years from the time he wrote, how could that be relevant to the audience he addressed? I think a better understanding is to see these as not three time periods of revelation, but three layers. There are things he records that speak to his time, but there is a sense in which these things are triggering the whole end time scenario. We have been living in these end times since Christ ascended into heaven. What John provides us with is a glimpse into the spiritual realities both of his time, and all time, crowned with the final hope of all believers: the return of Christ and the new heaven and new earth. He is writing things that he has seen, and things that are happening now, and things that haven’t happened yet in his lifetime to make the church of all times aware of the spiritual reality behind the earthly realities we see. There are real spiritual forces to which we are subject, but that God is sovereign, and Christ has us in his loving care.

Finally, we’ve already discussed much of what it says in verse 20. The only thing left to discuss is the use of the word “mystery.” In Biblical terms, a mystery is something with veiled meaning that’s known to God but not necessarily obvious to men. Paul describes the gospel as a “mystery” in Romans, not that it was a puzzle that needed to be figured out, but that God had provided hints and figures that pointed to the gospel, but it wasn’t until Christ came that the whole gospel message was unveiled. Dreams and visions are also means used by God to convey truths or alert people to things He is doing (or about to do) in symbolic language or pictures. Why would God do this? Why not speak clearly and plainly so everyone can understand? We considered a number of possible reasons. One is that even when God does speak clearly, people often don’t understand because their hearts are hard and their understanding is clouded by sin. But Jesus deliberately spoke in parables so that only those with “ears to hear” would hear–that is, those whose ears had been open by the Lord enabling them to grasp the spiritual truths he was teaching. Such veiled messages also drive us to Scripture and Bible study that we might better understand God’s word and seek application and understanding. When we can’t rely upon our own cleverness and have to turn to the Lord to teach us, that’s always a good thing. It keeps us humble and reminds us of the limitations of our minds to comprehend the things of God. Finally, we see God using dreams and visions as a means to validate His messenger. This happened with Joseph and Daniel, both of whom were given the ability to interpret dreams and both were rewarded as a result.

This concludes chapter one. We will be taking a break from our regular Sunday School for the Summer. Lord willing, we’ll resume our study of Revelation in the Fall.