,, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: “
Rev. 1: 12-17
John heard a voice behind him and when he turned he saw a vision of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ who is the Lord and head of the church.
,,... Christ is the head of the church:”
Eph.5: 23
However, we go in order when John turned around, he first saw seven candlesticks, and looking around I saw seven golden candlesticks. First, let's see why "seven candlesticks". verse.
,, and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”
Rev. 1:20
So John sees a vision of churches presented as a candlestick. These candlesticks were made of gold and could be transferred from one place to another and olive oil was placed in them and they served to shine. The fact that they are made of gold speaks of indestructibility and the same John writes "seven golden candlesticks" and the Lord said that the church is indestructible, so the symbolism is clear.
,, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Mt.16: 18
We have seen that the candlesticks served to shine and here the symbolism is very clear, in this corrupt and dark world the church should shine because it has knowledge that is from the Lord that shines compared to what Satan and the world offer. In Matthew we can read about this topics:
,, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5: 14-16
And now John says, "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks as the Son of man." Since John last saw the Lord Jesus, many years have passed, even about 60, and now he sees the glorified Jesus in the midst of a church he has never seen before. while he was on earth and now He is both man and God the God-man in the middle of the church because He promised that.
,, I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
John 14:18
,, and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:20
Here is what else has been said about the relationship between God the Father, Jesus and the church
,, He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
John 14:21
,, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”
John 14:23
Although they killed Jesus, He is alive in the midst of His church and gives it the power to shine in the dark, and that is because every member of the church can say:
,, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Gal.2: 20
"dressed in a long robe, and girded with a golden girdle on his chest" Long robes were worn by kings, prophets, and high priests in the Old Testament. Here Jesus is probably represented in a high priest's robe, and we conclude this from the verses:
,, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin.”
Heb.4: 14-15
Jesus went through suffering and was tempted far more than we are, and then he triumphantly took his high priest's robe, and now we see that he is among the church he loves because he offered his blood for it.
,, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”
Rev. 1: 5
We see further that he has a gold belt on his chest, the belt is a symbol of the winner and gold also symbolizes victory and the winner, we know that today winners in various sports receive gold medals and some belts that are proof that they are winners and we have no athletes but the Lord Jesus Christ who overcame sin and death and who redeemed his church and with them can "celebrate victory" in sports jargon.
"And His head and hair were white as white wool, like snow" John here describes Christ's holiness and purity and that is "white". White is a symbol of something that is pure that is not stained or soiled in people, so
This is used here so that we can understand at least a little part of the fullness, the part of God's holiness that is not defiled or stained by anyone and "white" is the best description. In support of this is part of the verses that speak of blinding light "So we see that this is a symbolic representation of the eternal holiness of God. Here is what happened to Paul from the work of that holiness of God.
,, At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.”
Acts 26:13
,, And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.”
Acts 22:11
"and His eyes are like a flame of fire" The Lord is with the church but He watches and sees everything that happens in the church
,,… who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire …”
Rev. 2:18
,, Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Hebrews 4:13
and he is ready to burn everything that is unclean in the church. We know from experience that when burning all objects that are not metal or stone, for example, are burned and only they "survive" the flame while something that is paper, cloth, grass or something else with low they are turned to ashes at the point of ignition, so here too all the impurities must be burned and the church must be clean as "metal" that passed through a flame on which only corrosion burned, which means that the metal became cleaner.
The church should be clean and it says:
,, For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.”
2 Cor.11: 2
,, … Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Eph.5: 25-27
"And His feet are like bronze when it melts in the furnace;" This refers to God's rebuke for sin. it burns and burns everything on the sides and everything in front of it so that nothing remains. Something similar is here here too. The Lord Jesus is very merciful and full of grace, but he is also a flame that can trample and burn everything in front of him.
,, …and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Rev. 19:15
,, and His voice as the roaring water of many; "This is the voice of authority, the voice of God speaking and you can only hear him because when you are near a great water or a waterfall of roaring water you cannot hear anything else. Here is the voice of Jesus speaking to the church and all of us through his word and revelation by the Holy Spirit .
"And he held in his right hand seven stars," An explanation of what these stars are we have in the following verse:
,,… The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches…”
Rev. 1:20
These seven "stars" are preachers of the seven churches and this testifies that the churches and preachers are under the control of the Lord Jesus and He holds them in the right hand. This does not apply to angels because nowhere are angels leaders in churches, angels have other tasks leaders in the churches of the people.
,,… These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand,…”
Rev.2: 1
"And out of his mouth went a sharp sword on both sides," and here we have verses concerning rebuke and judgment because Jesus defends his church and opposes the pagans who have tried and will try as long as they can destroy the Church and the work. God. They are followed by a warning
,, And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations:…”
Rev. 19:15
,, And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;”
Rev. 2:12
but there is not only judgment but before that mercy, the last warning
,, Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Rev. 2:16
,, and His face was as the sun shines in its power "This is a complete continuation of the description that was earlier and referred to the hair and eyes. If the hair and eyes were as in the description earlier, it is logical that the face be like that, to make the face shine. The face of Jesus as the head of the church shines in the church, but Jesus also wants to shine through the church that is in the world and in that way that the pagans see the power of God and come to repentance. The Lord waits patiently.
,, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3: 9
"And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead ..." At this revelation of the Lord Jesus, John "was shocked, without a word," perhaps so frightened that he simply fell down as dead when he saw part of the Lord's amazing glory Jesus Christ.
