In Revelation 1 we see the glorified Christ appearing to John on the isle of Patmos. John was exiled here because according to tradition, Nero tried to boil him in oil, but he swam out, unharmed. Here is where Jesus told him to write the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
The island of Patmos was a prison island at the time. Here is what it looks like today.
John heard a might voice like a trumpet and turned to see the glorified body of Jesus the Christ who was standing in the midst of 7 golden candlesticks.
Revelation 1:11 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.
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 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.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
It is difficult to capture the image of the majesty of our Lord as he appeared to John. He later saw Him as the lamb slain and the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The candle stick described in Exodus 25 was actually the menorah, a beautiful golden 7 branched candelabra that had oil lamps on each branch. This was the light of the tabernacle and the Holy place.
Each piece of furniture in the Holy place represented Christ in different ways. The menorah being His light or the "light of the world." (John 8:12) This probably was what John saw on Patmos, only the heavenly one.
According to the Talmud and the Malbim it was very ornate with many different parts specifically designed by God. The menorah was one piece of gold weighing 100 pounds and 5 foot high. It represents many things including the first words of each of the books of the Torah.
I want to focus on the 7 branches which represent the 7 Hebrew words of Genesis 1:1.
Hebrew reads right to left, so:
The picture of the Menorah here is from the Temple Institute in Israel. You will note that of the 7 Hebrew words of Genesis 1:1 only 6 are translated. In the KJV Bible, it reads in English: "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth." The middle word is not translated which is Aleph Tav which is the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Jesus spoke in Revelation 1 and 22 that he was the Alpha and Omega which is from the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He would have spoken in Hebrew to John, and would have said He was the Aleph and Tav. (In English; A and Z). This is a signature of Jesus, and is found in this first verse of the Bible, not translated because it was not known how. It is the beginning and the end, the creation and the conclusion of all things.
It is totally fitting because Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). He is the center of the Bible. Everything is based on His work, not ours. He is the salvation of God for mankind. He is the embodiment of Grace. Through Him we receive all the blessings of God according to the promises contained in His Word.
Jesus' signature, Aleph Tav את, is found 8 times in the first chapter of the Bible. In the 2nd chapter it is found 10 times. None of these are translated. All of them are important. It is like a secret that no one has understood. Hebrew is the wonderful language that God gave man. Each letter has a picture meaning. Each letter is a number. Each letter is a musical note It is marvelous to me that the Holy Ghost put Jesus' signature through out the Hebrew scriptures.
In Numbers 15 we see that the LORD told Moses to tell the children of Israel to make "fringes on the borders of their garments" perpetually. This was the tallit or prayer shawl.
This was the "fringe" of Jesus' garment that the woman with the issue of blood crawled through the crowd to touch and was instantly healed. The fringe is called tzitzit. Jesus would have always had His tallit on. This woman had said to herself that if she would just touch the fringe of this Holy man's garment, she would receive healing. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well, Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8. This fringe by the Hebrew numbers of the knots tied represents the whole law of God; 613 commandments.
Numbers 15:38-39 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them;...
In Hebrew you will read: "...and they shall put on the fringe of each corner a thread of blue. And it shalll be to you for a fringe that you may look upon it and remember - Aleph Tav את - all the commands of Jehovah, and do them... Aleph Tav is not translated...it is Jesus. Aleph is the sacrificial ox and Tav is the ancient cross.
The blue ribbon in the fringe was representing Jesus. Remembering Him when we see it, that He kept all the commandments of God and that we are the righteousness of God in Him, 2Corinthians 5:21.
So, in understanding the Grace and awesome benevolence of God, we see ourselves in the light of Jesus, God's most precious gift who has become sin, that we might be His righteousness. We can never keep the commandments of God to His perfection, but in Jesus, God looks upon us as covered by His blood and therefor innocent and righteous in God's eyes.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin, 1 John 1:7.
It is interesting to me that the dye that made the blue on the tallit came from a snail in the Middle East. We have already established that the blue in the fringe represented Jesus. When Judaism rejected their Messiah, and the blue color was used for royalty at great price, the snail became extinct after a few hundred years. It takes about 8500 snails to make 1 gram of blue dye.The process of making the dye was lost. You will see that most of the tallits in Judaism are just white on the fringes or tzitzit.
Isaiah prophesied by the Holy Spirit 700 years before the birth of Jesus on the earth in 9:6..For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. This is our King, Jesus.
Yet by the Grace of our wonderful Father, we that have the Spirit of Jesus in our spirit have been made to be kings and priests and sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Revelation 1:6, Ephesians 2:6.
Every possible need we have was bought and paid for by Jesus' obedience and passion of the cross.
As the light of the world, Jesus is the one who will see us through all our problems, now and forever. He has made us a dwelling place with Him that is eternal, John 14:3.
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