Trusting the Son of Man: Revelation 1:9-20

by Thomas Schreiner

A big part of life is letting go. When you are young, life consists in acquiring. You graduate from elementary school, from middle school, and college. You get a job. Many get married and have children. But then as life goes on, we begin to let go. Perhaps you have had to let go of children who didn’t come to full term. If your children go to school away from home, you release them to attend school for kindergarten and first grade. And we let them go in a deeper sense when they go to middle school and high school. And this letting go takes place in an even profounder way when children go to college. I remember the day well when my sons, Daniel, Patrick, and John went to college. We surrendered Daniel and Patrick in a new way when they each got married as well. Weddings are joyous occasions, but as parents we need to release our children since their primary relationship is now with their spouse.

But the Lord calls us to let go in other ways as well. When we retire we let go of our job and what we have done our entire lives. And the Lord calls us to let go of those whom we love. We experience the death of parents, or perhaps of the one we have loved so long in marriage. Sometimes the Lord calls us to let go of the lives of our children if he takes them home before us. If you are single, the Lord may call you to let go of the joy of being married. The Lord may call upon us to let go of our health. As we get older our health often gradually goes down. And finally, the Lord calls upon us to let go of life itself. If we die slowly, we say goodbye to our spouse, our children, our relatives, and our friends. What is another word for letting go for Christians? It is trusting God. When we let go of all these things, we put them in God’s hands. We don’t grasp onto them, but release them to his hands and his control.

We see in the passage we are looking at in Revelation today that when we let go of our lives, that Jesus Christ is in control. He is the ruling and reigning Savior. Revelation was written to Christians in Asia Minor who were suffering under Roman oppression. God was calling them to be faithful unto death, and so he wanted them to have a fresh vision of Jesus Christ in all his power and beauty and sovereignty. That is what we have in the passage before us today: a vision of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. We need to recognize that the description of Jesus Christ here is not a literal one. Like the rest of Revelation it is full of symbolism, and must be interpreted accordingly. We read,

Revelation 1:9-20 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “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.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Background
Beginning with the background of this passage, this John is the apostle John (see verse 9). He is on the island of Patmos and he is experiencing suffering and tribulation and persecution, which comes from standing for Christ. And he is an inheritor of the kingdom, which is his now but it is also a promise of the future. So he patiently endures – which is what Revelation is about – for the full promise of the kingdom.

We see in verse 10 that John was in the Spirit. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean here that John was living a godly life (though he was), but that the Spirit speaking through him prophetically. He receives revelations by visions. For example, consider the following texts:

Revelation 4:1-2 “After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.”

Revelation 17:3 “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 21:10 “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.”

Notice the link between being in the Spirit and seeing visions and the revelation of God. What does the vision mean? The vision cannot be taken literally, a point almost everyone agrees upon. We see this in verse 11 where it says “write what you see” (v. 11), and yet he heard a voice like a trumpet. This must be symbolism—not a real trumpet!

In verse 10 we see that it is not written to us but first and foremost to these seven churches in modern day Turkey (to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea). John turns to see the voice and sees 7 golden lampstands. If you look at v. 20, we learn that the 7 golden lampstands are the 7 churches.

Also, one other thing by way of background: Verse 19 is a disputed verse. We read, “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” I don’t have time to go into detail, but some read this verse as outlining the whole structure of the book of Revelation. Chapters 1-3 are the things that are. Chapters 4-22 are the things that are to come. I don’t share this view. I think this verse is speaking of the whole book. The entire book intermingles the things that are and the things that are to come. John writes about what he has seen in his visions, which includes both the present situation and future events that will take place.

The Vision of Christ
John sees in v. 13 the Son of Man in the middle of the lampstands. The lampstands refer to the churches, which are called lampstands because they bear witness to Christ. That brings us to the first truth of this passage: Jesus as the Son of Man walks with the churches. In the midst of their suffering he is with them. He is their shepherd. He has not abandoned them. Notice, Jesus is the Son of Man who is with them. Here we need to read about the Son of Man from Daniel 7:13-14. This is one of the most important passages in the Bible.

9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days (God) took his seat; his clothing was white as snow (purity), and the hair of his head like pure wool (eternity); his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

This son of man is more than a man! This great passage in Daniel is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The kingdom is given to him. We see in Revelation 1:13 one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The long robe shows that Jesus serves as the priestly Son of Man, for both the robe and the sash are used of priests in Exodus 28, signifying priestly attire. Jesus is God’s priest who has freed us from our sins by his blood (also see Hebrews where Jesus is called our great high priest).

In Revelation 1:14 we learn that the hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. According to Daniel 7, which we just read, the Lord has the white hair, not the Son of Man. Has John remembered the passage incorrectly? First of all, we should note that John often does this in Revelation. He slightly alters the words of the OT. And he doesn’t make a mistake here. He alters the words of the OT intentionally. In order to understand Revelation, in other words, we need to understand the OT and John’s use of the OT. Contrary to many, newspapers and current events are not the key to understanding Revelation. Understanding the OT is the key to interpreting Revelation. So, what is John telling us here? Why does the Son of Man have white hair like the ancient of days of Daniel 7? He is telling us that the Son of Man is ancient like the ancient of days. The ancient of days, God himself, is not the only one with white hair. The Son of Man has it too, for like God he is eternal. Now clearly this is not literal language. John is not telling us that Jesus as the Son of Man literally has white hair. He is telling us that he is the eternal one, and that he has always been and will always be. His eyes are like a flame of fire (v 14). This reminds us of God too, for the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire in the bush at Mt. Sinai.

What is the significance of Jesus’ eyes being like a flame of fire? Nothing is hidden from his gaze. He knows what is happening in every heart. Nothing is hidden from the Son of Man. He knows what is happening in every church. He knows the motives and hearts of those churches that are straying from the gospel. He knows why they are really doing what they are doing. He knows your heart. You may fool many people, but you can never fool him. He searches you and knows you.

Moreover, his feet are like burnished bronze (v 15). Again, this is not literal. He doesn’t really have bronze feet. Burnished bronze gleams with splendor and beauty, but notice that he says his feet are like bronze. One of the biggest problems in ancient warfare was footwear. Armies would march a long ways, but their feet would be bleeding and sore, and hence they could not move quickly and well in battle. But the Son of Man has no such problem. His feet are of bronze. He is able to crush his enemies. He stamps on them and destroys them! His voice is like the roar of many waters (v. 15). His voice is as majestic as the mighty ocean waters. His word judges and saves.

We read in v. 16 that in his right hand he holds the 7 stars which are the angels of the churches. It is difficult to be certain what the angels of the churches are. In any case, the churches are in the hands of the glorious and exalted Son of Man. A two-edged sword comes out of his mouth (v. 16). This can’t be literal. A two-edged sword would cut up your mouth! No, the sword refers to the word that proceeds from the mouth of the Son of Man. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts and destroys all his enemies. It is an effective and powerful word.

His face was shining like the sun in its strength. In other words, he is so glorious that one cannot even bear to look at him. To look at him straight on would kill anyone, and so it makes sense that when John saw him that he fell on his face as though dead (v. 17). John fainted dead away upon seeing Jesus. Sometimes people say they want to see God, but they don’t know what they are saying, for as finite and sinful creatures we cannot stand in his presence. But Jesus laid his hand on John, and says, “Fear Not. I am the first and the last.” The words “I am the first and the last” show that Jesus is fully God. Hear the words of Isaiah 44:6. “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’” This is a stunning verse. Jesus is claiming deity to here. But there is still only one God. He is also saying to the persecuted churches: I am in control, I am in control of history, and of every detail of your life.

But notice, Jesus is the living one, the first and the last, who “died.” What a mystery; the eternal dies! But he has conquered death. He lives forevermore. And now he holds the keys of death and Hades. In other words, he rules over death. There was no need to fear what Rome would do to believers because Jesus, not Caesar, holds the keys of death. Jesus is the sovereign one.

Application
So what is the application for us? First, to the unbeliever: Are you trusting in Jesus to help you conquer death? He is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world. He has satisfied God’s wrath on the cross. He has taken the penalty God imposes for sin on himself. And he has risen from the dead. He has conquered sin and death. So, if you give your life to Jesus, you share his victory over sin and death. You need not fear death or Hades.

And believer, I want to end where I began. We can release everything into God’s hands. We can let go of everything. This life is not heaven on earth. We cannot possess and cling to anything on this earth, whether it is our children, our house, our job, our spouse, or even our own life. But if we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we will not lose anything. Jesus himself taught us that if we lose all things for his sake that we will gain all things through him. Paul reminds us that everything is rubbish and garbage compared to knowing Jesus Christ and gaining him. Revelation reminds us that we let go of our lives, and we suffer death, as a portal to life in the age to come. We serve the one who is the first and the last. We serve the one who has conquered death. We don’t succumb to nostalgia, but we live in hope. Our lives may end in a whisper, but we will rise from the dead with joy. Everything we have surrendered will be ours again if we belong to Jesus Christ, but in a richer and deeper and more profound way than we ever imagined.

Thomas Schreiner joined the Southern Seminary faculty in 1997 after serving 11 years on the faculty at Bethel Theological Seminary. He also taught New Testament at Azusa Pacific University. Dr. Schreiner, a Pauline scholar, is the author or editor of several books including, Romans, in the Baker Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament; Interpreting the Pauline Epistles; The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law; The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance; Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives of Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, co-edited with Bruce A. Ware; Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of I Timothy 2:9-15; Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ, Magnifying God in Christ: A Summary of New Testament Theology, and Galatians.