Revelation 1:12-13: ¹²And I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and after turning, I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest.

John wanted to see who was talking, so he turned around to look. The first thing he saw was seven golden lampstands, likely looking like the Jewish menorah. At first, he did not know what the lampstands represented, but verse 20 reveals they stood for the seven churches. His attention was not long on the lampstands as he saw someone in the middle of them. The primary object of his vision is the being whom he described as one like a son of man. This phrase indicates that the person was human in form. One of Jesus’ favorite self-designations as recorded in the Gospels was “Son of Man.” The origin of this saying goes back to the vision in Daniel 7:13 is also found in Ezekiel’s prophecies. Any reader familiar with the sayings of Jesus would quickly recognize the identity of this person, but the following four verses will leave no doubt in their description. The further descriptions of this person have background in from Daniel 7, 10, and Ezekiel 1.

By standing in the midst of the lamps—representing the seven churches, this person knows what is happening with each one. The light of the lamps should do two things: illuminate the one in the middle for all to see and shine their light to those outside the circle; thus, the lamps bring praise and witness of the one in their midst.

In the following verses, seven descriptions of this special person are given. His clothing gives the first hint of his identity. The long robe and sash recall the garments of Israel’s high priests. Any Jewish reader of this book would recognize that this person was dressed as a high priest. One of the themes of Hebrews is echoed in this verse with Jesus serving as our great high priest who identifies with us a human being. The Incarnate One has become the Exalted One in these verses. The churches of Asia minor, with all their challenges, doubts, failures, sins, and fears have the exalted Jesus standing in their midst either to judge them or rescue them from their problems. As readers, we are confronted right at the beginning of this book with the exalted Jesus and have to decide what to do with him.