Revelation 1:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.

NIV: and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

NASB: and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash.

CSB: and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.

NLT: And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

John saw someone "like a son of man" in the midst of the seven lampstands. The Son of Man is a messianic term that relates Jesus to Israel, but it also reveals His humanity. He is truly man as well as truly God. The prophet Daniel predicts that dominion, glory, and a kingdom will be given to the Son of Man. John 5:27 testifies that God has conveyed Jesus authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

What follows John's reference to the Son of Man is a symbolic description of the risen, glorified Jesus. He wears a long robe with a golden sash around His chest. The long robe depicts a judge or a priest or perhaps both, because Jesus is both judge (James 5:9) and high priest (Hebrews 4:14–16). The golden sash symbolizes Jesus' purity (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 3:18; Hebrews 4:15).

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.''

Accessed 5/4/2024 2:52:21 AM