In the first chapter of this last book Jesus appears to the apostle John. John is now an old man and he has been exiled to an island called Patmos between Greece and Turkey (not greasy turkey, for the record). There, on Sunday (“the Lord’s Day,” as John calls Sunday), he heard “a loud voice like a trumpet” (Rev. 1:10). That voice was Jesus’s!

When Jesus reveals himself to John, he commands him to write what he sees. And then John saw some strange things—like “a woman sitting on a scarlet beast [that] . . . had seven heads and ten horns” (17:3). What? Wow! John is also to write about Jesus, whom he describes in a strange way too. Jesus is “clothed with a long robe . . . with a golden sash around his chest” (1:13). His hair looks “like white wool” and his eyes “like a flame of fire” and his face “like the sun shining in full strength” (1:14, 16). And he is given titles like “him who is and who was and who is to come” (1:4), “the ruler of kings on earth” (1:5), and “the living one” (1:18).

That powerful and shining Jesus tells the seven churches—whom he loves and has freed from their sins “by his blood” (1:5)—to serve him as priests, that is, to sacrifice their lives as they hold to the truth and share it with others. The seven letters to the seven churches are written to keep them (and us!) on mission. Because Jesus loves the church, he encourages us to believe the right things, keep working hard, continue to be patient, and stand strong through suffering. He also, in love, corrects and warns us to return to the truth, remember to love God first, and repent of sins. And he promises us that if we listen to what the Spirit is saying through Jesus’s words, we will receive gifts that are out-of-this-world amazing! We will live with Jesus and feast with him in paradise forever. Forever food. Forever fellowship. Forever happiness!