A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 51
While John was on the Isle of Patmos, he was transported into the future to witness the Day of the Lord and the events at the end of this age.
His experience started with a voice that he heard behind him.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”—Revelation 1:10 (KJV)
This was no ordinary voice. This was a great voice like a trumpet.
God ordained the sounding of trumpets in the nation of Israel in order to get the attention of the people, to make important announcements, and to mark times of important significance, among other things.
The voice got John’s attention. When he turned around, he was completely overwhelmed with the truly awesome sight that met his eyes.
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me.”—Revelation 1:12 (NIV)
That’s a strange phrase, “I turned around to see the voice,” but it is written that way, even in the original language. But we don’t *see *voices. We *hear *them.
When John turned, he saw Jesus. There is a beautiful truth there. As William Branham said in his sermon on John’s Patmos vision, when we really see the voice of God, we see Jesus. The Word and the Person are one and the same, as John himself wrote at the beginning of his gospel account:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—John 1:1 (NKJV)
Seven Golden Lampstands
When he turned, John first saw seven golden lampstands. I used to picture these as seven separate, stand-alone lampstands or candlesticks. I don’t believe that any more.
Now I picture these seven lampstands all connected to one “stem” just like the Jewish menorah, and like the seven lampstands in the temple of God. They are all fed by one source of oil that is continually flowing. I picture these seven lampstands like the ones the prophet saw in Zechariah chapter 4, but without the two olive trees:
“And the angel who was speaking with me came back and awakened me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. He said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl [for oil] on the top of it and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side [supplying it continuously with oil].’”—Zechariah 4:1-3 (AMP)
We are not free to come up with our own interpretation for these lampstands. Jesus Himself tells us what these seven lampstands represent.
“… the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”—Revelation 1:20 (AMP)
These are the seven churches in Asia to whom Jesus told John to write:
“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”—Revelation 1:11 (ESV)
It is significant that after John hears the voice of Jesus speaking to him, the first things he sees when he turns are the churches.
That is the experience of so many people in our world today.
They may hear the voice of God calling them, and when they turn to search for Him, they first see the churches, which represent Jesus to them in this world.
People who are searching for God, hearing His call in their hearts, look to us in the churches as representatives of God on this earth.
We in the churches have a great responsibility to people who are searching for Him. We must understand this great responsibility we have to present Jesus accurately to the people who are hearing His call and searching for Him.
People may come to us just as they are, with bad attitudes, with mental, emotional, physical, and financial problems. They may say and do things that are inappropriate or immature.
And why not? Should we be surprised if sinners act like sinners?
But if we react to these desperate people with judgment, criticism, and condemnation, then we have not shown them a true representation of the God they are seeking for. They may end up turning away from God because of hurts that we caused.
But, on the other hand, if we welcome people to come as they are into our churches, not requiring them to “clean themselves up” first, then they may have a chance to find the true Jesus they are looking for. If we welcome them with unconditional love and acceptance, then we can show them a true picture of what God is really like.
As someone has said before, “You may be the only Jesus some people will ever see.”
What does the Jesus in you look like to other people?
**Reference: **
Branham, W. M. (2005). An Exposition of the Seven Church Ages. Voice of God Recordings.
