October 17, 2019 – Click here to listen
We tend to think of Jesus as a simple Galilean carpenter, itinerant preacher, girding himself with his garment to wash the feet of His disciples, and as a martyr dying a horrible death upon a cross. My daily Bible study has progressed one chapter a day as we have marched through the Bible and today we have finally reached Revelation. All I can say is Wow Oh Wow! John was on the island of Patmos where he had been exiled and suddenly Jesus appeared to him in His glorified and risen state and he heard Him say: “ I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him…even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
Skip down to verse 12 and we begin to get a glimpse of John’s attempt to write with mere words what he saw. “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest. The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.”
His snowy white hair symbolizes holiness and wisdom, His fiery eyes pierce the utmost depths of every soul, The feet of brass signifies when Jesus will put His enemies and every evil power under His feet, And the double edged sword represents what proceeds from His mouth is the word of God that will judge ALL of humanity.
The sights and sounds of this visitation had to petrify John with fear, but His message was meant to encourage Rev.1:17 – When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. “But He placed His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
I have tried to envision this a hundred times in my mind, and I know it is inadequate. When John was in the Spirit, time had no meaning and he got a first-hand glimpse of heaven and what was to come. Just imagine how it must have appeared to John as he saw it unfold on the big screen of the entire heavens to see Jesus clothed in dazzling white and hearing the words of Jesus thundering away like a hundred oceans roaring. The image of God almighty, creator of all that is seen and unseen, addressing the churches of the world. This book was sent to the seven churches that existed at the time and sadly only two of them had been found faithful; however, Revelation is also addressed to all churches including those of today as well. Imagine kneeling before Him and being judged.
Matthew Henry wrote the following about those seeing the appearance of Jesus when He returns:
Attention is called to that great day when all will see the wisdom and happiness of the friends of Christ, and the madness and misery of his enemies. Let us think frequently upon the second coming of Christ. He shall come, to the terror of those who wound and crucify him by apostacy: he shall come, to the astonishment of the whole world of the ungodly. He is the Beginning and the End; all things are from him and for him; he is the Almighty; the same eternal and unchanged One. And if we would be numbered with his saints in glory everlasting, we must now willingly submit to him receive him, and honor him as a savior, who we believe will come to be our Judge. Alas, that there should be many, who would wish never to die, and that there should not be a day of judgment!
If you are shuddering, take heart. If you remain faithful to Jesus, you have nothing to fear. He is alive forever and ever and so shall we be alive forever and ever and we will be with Him. As far as I can determine this is the only book of the Bible that offers a blessing for reading it, hearing it, and heeding it. Read it today or listen to it on an audio Bible and then follow Jesus Christ and not the world.
Revelation. 1:3
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.