The Glory of the Lord’s Day

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 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. The hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the First and the Last, and the Living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

Revelation 1:9-20

When you come to church on Sunday, do you know what is happening spiritually? After reading this passage, I realize I rarely do. When the Bible is read and taught, the Holy Spirit in us hears a loud voice like a trumpet announcing, “Listen and believe what you hear in this book I’ve sent you.” Then our Spirit sees who is speaking, and He is among us, like a man but more, wearing a long robe symbolizing kingship and a golden sash symbolizing high priesthood. His hair is snow white symbolizing wisdom. His eyes are like fires symbolizing holiness, His feet are like polished and pure bronze symbolizing steadfastness, and His voice roars like a waterfall or the ocean symbolizing might. In His right hand, He holds a star symbolizing an angel for our church, His tongue is a sharp two-edged sword symbolizing His powerful Word, and His face shines like the sun symbolizing righteousness.

When our spirit sees Him, we feel that we should be dead from our unholiness. But He tenderly touches us and says, “Don’t be afraid. I am the Creator and the Judge, the One who has life. I died, and behold I was resurrected to eternal life, and I give you eternal life too. Believe therefore the things that you’ve heard, those that are and those that are to take place after this.”

That is what is happening spiritually when we come to church on Sunday. Do you want to hear Jesus, see Him, and feel His touch? Come to church on Sunday. Do you know someone who wants those things? For whom do you want those things? Invite them to church on Sunday. After all, that is what a spiritual lampstand does: it burns and banishes the darkness of ignorance and fear by revealing the transcendent majesty and grace of the One who lit it.