Revelation 1:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,

NIV: I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

NASB: Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands;

CSB: Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

NLT: When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands.

KJV: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

NKJV: Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

John is describing how he came to receive this Revelation, from Jesus Christ. While "in the Spirit" (Revelation 1:10), John heard a powerful voice commanding him to write a message to seven churches (Revelation 1:11). According to this verse, John turned around to see who was speaking in a loud voice like a trumpet.

Upon doing so, he saw seven golden lampstands. In the Old Testament, a single golden lampstand with seven lamps that burned with oil stood in the tabernacle and later in the temple (Exodus 25:31; Hebrews 9:2). An angel showed the Old Testament prophet Zechariah a golden lampstand with a bowl on its top and seven lamps on top of it (Zechariah 4:1–2). This single lampstand represented the nation of Israel, whom God had chosen to be a light to the Gentiles.

However, the apostle John saw seven individual lampstands. As Revelation 1:20 explains, the seven lampstands represented seven churches. Each individual church was supposed to shine her light into a spiritually dark world. Addressing the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul exhorted, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:14–15).

Revelation 1:12–16 unfolds what John saw when he turned after hearing a loud voice command him. The speaker stood in the midst of seven golden lampstands. He was wearing a long robe and a golden sash around His chest. His hair was white. His eyes resembled a blazing fire. His feet were like bronze. When He spoke, His voice sounded like the roar of many waters. He held seven stars in His right hand. A double-edged sword protruded from His mouth, and His face shone like the noonday sun.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''