Jesus’ Address to the Churches

(Rev 1:17-20)



1. Who is He? "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.”

a. Falling Down—

(1) Real worship is to fall at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to do something or relieve some fear that humanly impossible.

(2) Real worship is to fall on our faces before God, to fall at His feet!

(3) A Word About the Current Commotion--"being slain in the Spirit..."

(a) First, it isn't mentioned in the Bible – not even one time.

(b) Second, it is doctrinally out of whack- Falling Backward in the Bible is NEVER positive.

(i) Eli fell backward when the Glory departed from Israel—“…1 Sam 4:18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years…”

(ii) Falling backward was part of the judgment of God against the children of Israel who would not listen to God's prophets—Isa 28:13 “ But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.”

(iii) Jer 7:24 "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.

(iv) Jer 15:6 You have forsaken Me," says the LORD, "You have gone backward. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting!

(v) The soldiers who came to arrest Jesus fell backward—John 18:6 Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.”

(vi) A meeting with God causes people to hide their face, to fall FORWARD!! Gen 17:1 -3 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram ...Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:

(vii) When God appeared to Abraham at Mamre—Gen 18:2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,

(viii) When God appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush—Exo 3:6 ... And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

(ix) Even Balaam, the false prophet, had sense enough to know what to do when he met God....Num 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.

(x) When God appeared to Joshua at Jericho...Josh 5:14 .....Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped,

(xi) When God appeared to the parents of Samson...Judg 13:20 ...they fell on their faces to the ground.


(Mark 5:22) "And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet"

(Mark 7:25) "For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet."

(Mark 3:11) "And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God.""

(Mark 5:33) "But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth."

(Luke 8:28) "When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!""


(Lev 9:24) "and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces."(

(Num 20:6) "So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them."

(Judg 13:20) "it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar; the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground."

(1 Ki 18:39) "Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!""

(1 Chr 21:16) "Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces."

(Mat 17:6) "And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid."

(Rev 7:11) "All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,"

(Rev 11:16) "And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,"

b. Do Not Be Afraid “…But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last…”

(1) A common thing said to many of God’s people in great times of need.

(a) Sometimes we fear the situation

(b) Sometimes we fear our enemies

(c) Sometimes we fear what man can do to us

(d) Sometimes we fear our own weaknesses

(e) Sometimes God puts us out of our comfort zone

(f) Sometimes God gives us challenges that seem impossible

(g) But He always says—do not be afraid


(2) Some of God’s choicest servants needed these words…

(a) Moses—(Gen 15:1) "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.""

(b) The People of Israel—(Exo 14:13) "And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever."

(c) Joshua—(Josh 1:9) ""Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.""

(d) Elijah—(2 Ki 1:15) "And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king."

(e) Any believer seeking wisdom—(Prov 3:25) "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes…"

(f) Joseph—(Mat 1:20) "But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."

(g) The Disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration— (Mat 17:7) "But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid.""

(h) The Women At the Tomb—(Mat 28:5) "But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified."

(i) The Virgin Mary— (Luke 1:30) "Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

(j) Paul the Apostle—

(i) (Acts 18:9) "Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;"

(ii) (Acts 27:24) ""saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.'"

c. Why “do not be afraid? Three Consecutive “I AM” statements

(1) “… I am the First and the Last…”

(a) He Is Eternal God—Rom 9:5, 1 Tim 6:15-16

(b) was there before we were, He will be here when we are dust

(2) When we fear death, he is the Victor over it—18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.”

(3) We will be with Him eternally as well

(4) Why should we fear when we have such wonderful Savior?

(5) But He tells us not to fear, knowing that we will

2. The Keys—“…And I have the keys of Hades and of Death…”

a. What about keys? What are they? How many of them are there? What is the literal meaning of these keys?

(1) Outside Revelation, “keys” are mentioned only a few times

(a) Mat 16:19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

(b) Isa 22:22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

(2) What are the “keys?” They indicate authority—the key holder rules!— (Luke 11:52) ""Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.""

(a) The Keys to The Kingdom—committed to Peter, but not to him alone

(b) The key to the house of David—most likely synonymous to the Kingdom

(c) The keys to death and Hell— Luke 12:5) ""But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!"

(d) The Key of David—(Rev 3:7) ""And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":"

(e) The key to the bottomless pit—

(i) (Rev 9:1) "Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit."

(ii) (Rev 20:1) "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand."

b. The “Weekend in Hell” theory is a favorite of many, but it is not solidly established in the Bible, and it actually comes from medieval Roman Catholic teachings

c. The second part of the “Weekend in Hell” doctrine is that Satan owned "the keys" to death, hell, and the grave, and that Jesus had to go win them from him.

(1) There are ABSOLUTELY NO scriptures which even remotely suggest that Satan ever had any keys to anything.

(2) Furthermore, God opens and shuts, and no one stops Him in going either direction—

(3) Isa 45:1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held; To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:

(4) Rev 3:7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":


(a) Now think, did the Devil EVER have the power of life and death? Did Satan EVER have authority to sentence anyone to Hell? Was Satan ever in charge of God’s salvation plan?

(b) The answer is no! God alone has, and has always had, that power and authority.


(Rev 3:7) ""And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens":"


3. The Outline of Revelation—“…19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this…”

a. To remind us again, this book is outlined simply and directly

(1) Write—again, John writes what he is commanded, not anything of his own.

(2) What has been seen

(3) The Things that exist

(4) The Things which WILL take place after this.

b. Again, Revelation Reveals Itself! “…20 "The mystery of the seven stars which 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 which you saw are the seven churches."

(1) The Angel, or messenger, of each church, perhaps the pastor.

(2) The Lampstands—the churches, the lights that should shine, the city on the hill that should shine—(Mat 5:14) ""You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."