The Vision on Patmos

John was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9). On the Lord’s Day, John was in the Spirit and heard a loud voice behind him that sounded like a trumpet. The voice commanded him to write what he saw on a scroll and send it to the seven churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Revelation 1:10-11).

Upon turning to see the voice, John observed seven golden lampstands and one like a son of man standing among them (Revelation 1:12-13). This figure wore a robe reaching to his feet with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool or snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet resembled bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice sounded like the rush of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, a sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth, and his face shone like the sun in its brilliance (Revelation 1:14-16).

When John saw him, he fell at his feet as though dead, but the figure placed his right hand on John and told him not to be afraid. The figure identified himself as the First and the Last, the Living One who was dead but is now alive forever and holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:17-18). John was instructed to write what he had seen, what was then present, and what would take place later. The text explains that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches (Revelation 1:19-20). The text does not say how John arrived at Patmos or the specific year in AD the vision occurred.