Revelation 1:10-12

Verse 10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.”

John was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard a great voice. This voice was as loud and blasting as a trumpet, but it was not a trumpet blast. This is merely a simile, a grammatical device. A voice as of a trumpet. John was in the spirit. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and was given a vision (the book of Revelation). It says that this happened on the Lord’s day. The day that Christians now worship (Sunday) was never called the “Lord’s Day” historically until a hundred years after John. It was always referred to as “the first day of the week”. This is the only time this phrase is ever used in scripture, and since it was not used by Christians at the time to refer to a Sunday worship day, it is unlikely that John would use a term with which they would not identify. Actually I don’t think it matters if it was a Sunday or not. I am going to put forth another idea of what this might mean. Of all the languages that I have studied, and I have studied a few, English is the only one that I have studied that uses apostrophe “s’s” to denote possession. In every other language that I have studied, and of course I haven’t studied them all, possessions are done this way. The hat of Mary. The car of Bob. So another way of saying the Lord’s day would be to say, The Day of the Lord. Considering that that is exactly what John is about to see, The Day of the Lord, it really wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he was in the spirit (given a vision) on the Day of the Lord. I don’t think it matters either way as it isn’t crucial to the message. It’s just another possibility.


Verse 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.”

The voice announces Himself to John. Christ is now repeating what He said before only with a slightly different twist. Christ says that He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last instead of the one who was, is and will come. Calling Himself the first and the last, while essentially meaning the same thing as alpha and omega directly correlates to God calling Himself the first and the last in Is. 41:4, 44:6, and 48:12. This shows that the Father and the Son are one. Now He gives John some instructions. He tells John to write what he sees. To write it in a book and send it to the seven churches in Asia. Then He lists the seven churches that were already mentioned.

Verse 12 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;”

John turns to see the speaker. What he sees is seven golden candlesticks or lamp stands. These would be the type that were displayed in the temple. Large candlesticks that were more like floor lamps filled with oil.