Revelation 1:9-11

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his witnessing about Jesus. As he writes of suffering and patiently enduring he is talking about his then, not in any future tribulation. It is commonly believed that the Roman emperor Domitian had put John in prison on this isle. John testifies that he was being persecuted because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The kingdom he refers seems to be a reference to the kingdom of the church in its present state. Not any future kingdom not established.

John says that he was suffering. He was in pain. In this John through his witness to the Word and testimony of Jesus was following Jesus. Jesus began His kingdom as a suffering Savior and John was following as a suffering saint. Our neighbors reminded us on Sunday night in their raising kids talk of the writer David Platt who asks the question, “what has following Jesus costs you?” We need to ask this question to ourselves. Has it cost friends? Work advantages? Relationships? Opportunities? Maybe you’ve been rejected or ridiculed? While it isn’t a mark of a believer to have such in our lives, it happens as we stay fixed on following Jesus in a world that fights to declare He doesn’t exist. As we grow closer to Jesus in our walk, these things/happenings/relationships no longer are costs that we had to give up, but great opportunities to further witness and testify and know that we are on His path in our life. There is no cost we can bear since our very life is a gift and salvation from sin is another gift.

“On the Lord’s Day” he was “in the Spirit”. This infers that he was studying, praying, and/or dwelling in worship to God on the Sabbath. It was at this time that the message of God came to him. In this alone is a powerful message to us. We so often pray for guidance, wisdom, direction, and help but we spend no time “in the Spirit”. Jesus said to “seek Him first”. Are we looking in all avenues of the world for help first or are we spending time praying and worshiping God first? God came to John when he was “in the Spirit” and we can expect God’s voice to come to us when we spend purposeful time with Him also.

John is given these visions in sight and sound. It is a panoramic picture. The voice was great and like a trumpet. This is most likely like a war trumpet used to align armies or announce an army march to battle. John is give a very particular task. Write down what you see and send it to these seven churches.

As we have studied the number seven represents completeness. These seven churches were actual historical churches in Asia. The number seven indicates that they, or their characteristics, also represent the nature of the types of churches that exist throughout the history of the church. Jesus has a word for these churches and their nature and He tells John to write it down and send it to them.