01 Rev. 1:10-11: God Speaking

(10) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (11) Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While in Revelation 1:4 John addresses himself to the seven churches by referring to the true author, God, in an introduction, he is now giving a description of what God's voice had literally said.

John reports that he was "in the Spirit". I believe it was comparable to Peter's vision in Acts 10: "On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth" (Acts 10:9-11 KJV) It was a kind of Spiritual state that the Holy Spirit creates by His presence. Christians live on earth physically, but their Spirit in unity with the Holy Spirit is located in Heaven already. Christians are a new Spiritual creature. To say it with Apostle Paul: "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:16-17 KJV) The first thing John notices is not a vision, but something he hears: God's voice behind him. It must have been so loud that he compared it to a trumpet. I am always impressed by the fact that God's Word has a creative power. We can see this in Genesis when God created the world just by saying it: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1:3 KJV) John was in the Spirit, but he did not have a vision that was formed from things he saw in front of him, but he heard God's voice behind him. This God revealed Himself as the Alpha and Omega, which, according to Revelation 1:8 is God Almighty. God gave John His instructions to write everything down in a book and to send it to the seven churches in Minor Asia. We will hear more of the seven churches later. It is obviously not John who chooses the churches where to send the book, but God Himself, and we do not know why He chose those seven ones. They probably represented seven typical forms of churches with their good and bad sides. Reading about them can help us find out what our churches are still lacking, so we can pray for improvement and work into that direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What does it mean for me now?

As a member of the Body of Christ it means that I should listen carefully to what God had to tell to His Church. It also makes clear that God can communicate with His people, and that His voice cannot be overheard if He wants people to hear it.