Posted on 11/07/2017 2:14:51 PM PST by pastorbillrandles
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:1-6)
The last word of all of Holy Scripture is the Revelation of Jesus . The Revelation is divided into three sections. “Write the things which you have seen…”, i.e., the vision of the glorified Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 1. (Write) “…the things that are...”, i.e. Revelation 2-3, and (write) …the things which shall be hereafter.”, i.e. the rest of the vision.
The apostle John knew Jesus in the days of his humiliation. He had followed Him and leaned on his breast,and even witnessed the crucifixion and seen the resurrected Christ.
Here in the Revelation, given to John on the Isle of Patmos, a penal colony John had been sentenced to in his old age, John saw the glorified Christ;
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. Revelation 1 vs 13
The Son of Man is a reference to an exalted figure in Daniel’s vision, who approaches the throne of the “Ancient of Days” and receives from Him the Kingdom and all power, glory and Dominion!
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.(Daniel 7:13-14)
He is dressed like Priest, and like a King, for He is the Priest King, the man called the “Branch”,predicted by Zechariah many centuries earlier;
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both (Zechariah 6:12-13)
In this glorified Savior, the two offices of Priest and King combine, in one absolutely merciful and faithful person.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; This phrase also matches the description of God, “the Ancient of Days” in the same vision,
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.(Daniel 7:9-10)
The glorified Jesus is One with the Ancient of Days, in being and Wisdom.
and his eyes were as a flame of fire; His eyes are penetrating, pure, and searching. If the eyes are the window of the soul, these are eyes which are everlasting, He is ageless, and knows everything. There is nothing about you and I that He doesn’t know, there are no secrets we can withhold, He sees right through us.
These eyes are penetrating also in their compassion, He has “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood”. We who are redeemed want him to look at us and through us! We have cultivated all along in the days of our discipleship the habit of bearing our souls to Him.
But to the unredeemed, these are the eyes of spurned love, they do not want him to see them, as Revelation 6 tells us,
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:15-17)
These are the eyes of absolute purity, holiness and zeal.
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace;
He is on his feet, moving among his redeemed churches, and across the earth. His feet have previously taken him through the sorest of trials, the very judgment of the Holy God , as our substitute. He has already been there, and come through it, the agony in the garden, the cross, the rejection of the Father, the cruel trial of mockery and humiliation by his enemies, and even death.
There is nothing we will go through that he hasn’t already walked through himself, as our substitute and Priest.
and his voice as the sound of many waters. This relates to the 93rd Psalm,
The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.
The nations of the earth are likened unto the noisy turbulent sea, waves conflicting with each other and smashing on rocks in a cacophony.
But the voice of Jesus, is of one mighty, Majestic, flowing roar, as of a waterfall, united, authoritative, and of sheer power, as in Ezekiels’s vision of the LORD coming into the Temple,
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and chis voice was like a noise of many waters: and dthe earth shined with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:2)
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword:
Jesus holds the church in His right hand, He will not let evil prevail over his chosen and redeemed flock.
His Word is as a Sword, by which He will soon smite the rebellious nations, and make war on all that is unjust, perverted, evil and false.
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
The face of Jesus is the face of God Himself. When He is seen in his full splendor, as on the Mt of Transfiguration, the full glory of God radiates out of Jesus’ face. We cannot look directly upon it, anymore than we could behold the noonday sun…
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.(Matthew 17:2)
The Gospel is called by Paul the Gospel of the Glory of God, and we are told that the glory of God shines from the very face of Jesus Christ! He alone is the full revelation of the glory of the invisible God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.( 2 Cor 4:1-6)
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: 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.
John fainted when He saw the glorified Christ Jesus, as Daniel had done centuries before. but Jesus revived Him, calling upon him (and us) to fear not.
On what basis should we not fear?
We should not fear, on the basis of the person of Jesus, our Savior, Priest and King. He is the alpha and Omega, the everything. He has always lived, but then died, and is now passed from death unto life again for evermore. In Him we live also, for He has died for us. Death has no claim upon us, for it cannot ever claim Him again.
It is He who holds the Keys of eternity, those whom he has justified, no man can condemn, all judgment has been entrusted to Him.
Share this:
beautiful, come Lord
Thank you for posting this, Pastor.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.