Revelation 1:9-10 – Bible Study & Exploration
Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation
(Verse 9) It’s believed that John was the last apostle of Christ still alive during the writing of this letter to the seven churches of Revelation. He could’ve easily faced persecution that led to his death for his testimony of Jesus.
John was leading the congregation of the church of Ephesus under the Roman rule of Emperor Domitian. According to the writings of Irenaeus, it was Domitian that exiled John to the tiny Greek isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea.
For a Reason and a Season
This is ironic considering that Domitian was considered a cruel persecutor of Christians. But we can see that John was being preserved by God for a reason and a season. Patmos was an island prison guarded by Roman soldiers. Convicts were sent to Patmos and it was required that they fend for themselves.
It was a harsh place. But God was watching over the disciple that Jesus loved because He had a very important task for him to complete. It was understood that many of those in John’s congregation were sending John food and supplies that helped him survive the conditions of the island.
This is the only place in the Bible that the island of Patmos is mentioned.
This place was another one of God’s examples where He uses the most desperate of situations to show His glory. John survived that island because God was watching him in every moment until the time was right for his old friend (Jesus) to come and pay him a visit.
“Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10)
God is there in our darkest, desperate and weakest moments of our lives. He deserves all the glory for sustaining us and rescuing us.
On the Lord’s Day
(Verse 10) There was nothing that John could ever have done to prepare himself for what was about to take place. Not only was his best friend (Jesus) and Lord and Savior about to pay him a visit, but He was going to show Him visions he never could’ve imagined beyond his wildest dreams.
If you could bring together all of the 3D IMAX theaters together into one screen, it would likely not come close to matching the magnificent visions he would be shown from the backdrop of the universe.
But before we get into the visions, John has some instructions from Jesus he needs to receive. He also has to take dictation for very specific letters to the seven churches of Revelation. Each one receiving their own letter with details about their spiritual condition.
How appropriate it was for John to call the day that Jesus chooses to visit him, the Lord’s Day. Appropriate also, because we’ll see the events of Revelation lead up to the Lord’s Day when Christ returns.
Jesus is about to reveal the details of what Daniel spoke of 500 years ago of the seventieth week. This was the last week of the seventy weeks God gave to Daniel to write and seal up until the time of the end.
The scroll is about to be opened by the only one worthy to open it. Can you feel the anticipation building? Drum roll, please!
In the Spirit
John suddenly describes himself being in the Spirit the very moment that Jesus visits him. This can likely be related to the state in which those that are raptured will be when Christ comes to collect His church.
This is likely the spiritual state that Philip found himself in when he was raptured from one place to another after his time with the Ethiopian eunuch.
The physical limits of the flesh that are hindered by time and space would’ve been temporarily removed while John was in the Spirit. As we’ll see with his visions, he could move upward to heaven or forward in time.
Loud Voice Like a Trumpet
The moment before John is instructed to write everything he sees in the letters to the seven churches of Revelation, He hears a loud voice like a trumpet. This is the voice of Jesus as He makes His appearance to John.
It’s important here to understand the significance of the trumpet. Since God gave Moses instructions to hammer out two silver trumpets in Numbers 10, the trumpet has and will continue to play an important role in the fulfillment of God’s word.
The trumpet blasts were an indication that something is about to change. They were used to announce a new command or to get the attention of the people. We see the use of trumpets being used throughout Jewish history.
The role of the trumpets was important enough to God that He created the Festival of Trumpets which is one of the seven festivals given to the Israelites by God. This festival or feast is known as Rosh Hashanah. It was created for the blowing of trumpets signifying the beginning of the Hebrew calendar.
One of the most blessed hopes of Christians, the rapture will be signaled by a trumpet blast from God.
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Finally, we see here that Jesus undoubtedly gets John’s attention with the trumpet blast sound of His voice.
The Trumpet Judgments
Then, sadly for those who remain on the earth during the tribulation because they’ve chosen to reject God and His son, will experience some of the worse wrath God has planned for them.
The Trumpet Judgments of God are some of the most terrible judgments that will come upon the the inhabitants of earth at that time. So terrible are they that we’ll see the angels crying out, Woe! Woe, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth.
Sorry. I didn’t meant to scare you. I’m getting a little ahead of myself. The Trumpet Judgments don’t come until chapter 8. Let’s hold off and ease into them as we get closer.