The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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.

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ 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 over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

⁹ I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. ²⁰ As for 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 are the seven churches.

The book of Revelation may well be one of the most fascinating and also intimidating books of the Bible to read, study and understand. It is based on a vision John received or experienced. Being a prophetic vision, Revelation is filled with imagery. It is also important to remember that as with all heavenly visions, those who describe them are attempting to describe what is infinite in terms of what is finite. They are attempting to describe spiritual things in physical terms. In John’s case he is also describing future events in terms familiar to himself and the people of his day. Imagine someone even as recently as 200 years ago trying to describe the technology of today. What is commonly used daily today throughout the world, could not even have been imagined then, let alone 2000 years ago. Because I am not a Biblical scholar and because what I share in Daily Nuggets is a reflection on God’s word, as we read through Revelation texts I will reflect more on  what we can glean from the more literal application rather than focusing on the many diverse interpretations of what John shares. John begins saying:  The Revelation of Jesus Christ…   2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.    The revelation of Jesus Christ is really what all scripture is about, from Genesis to Revelation, scripture reveals God’s plan for man facilitated by and through Jesus Christ, His Son. Like everything we view in scripture, we should interpret Revelation as it aligns with the rest of God’s word.     

Verse 8 says:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  John 8:56-58 says:   “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”  So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”   In Genesis 1:1-3;26-27 ) it says:    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light… Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.    John 1:1-4 says:   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.     We see the continuity of scripture that God is eternal and that from the beginning, Jesus was present with Him.

In verses 10-16 John begins to describe what he saw and heard:   I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.     We see the difficulty that John has, describing the splendor of what he saw in the spirit, in natural physical terms. He repeatedly uses the word like in his descriptions.  In verse 17-18 it says:  When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades”     John’s response to seeing the Lord is like what we see in other accounts of the who have visions of seeing God in heaven. Regardless of the level of intimacy or familiarity that one has with the Lord, it would seem that seeing Him in all His glory, majesty and splendor is overwhelming. In John 13:23-25 we see how intimately familiar John was with Jesus, as God in flesh:  There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured to him, and said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”   John laid his head upon the Lord’s chest, yet when John saw Him in all His glory he fell at His feet. We are encouraged throughout scripture to abide with and in the Lord, to dwell with Him. In Hebrews 4:16 it says:  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   Because we are redeemed from sin, reconciled to God and restored to the image and likeness of God through the cross, we can have intimate fellowship with Him. The Holy Spirit actually dwells in us. Yet, I am sure that we too can expect that when we see Him in all His glory and splendor, when we see the indescribable God of heaven, we will fall at His feet. Romans 14:11 says:  For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD."    Philippians 2:10 says:  At the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.  Revelation 5:13-14 says:   Every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”  And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

We too will fall and worship Him. Even now we should worship Him in all that we do. In the text it says:  He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,  and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades”   In Matthew 16:16-19 it says:  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”   In the end, at the Revelation of Christ, we will worship Him forever. As the song says: “When we’ve been there 10000 years we’ve no less days to sing His praise.”   For now though, at the Revelation of Christ, He says: “Do not be afraid.  You are My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, who is and who was and who is to come. As I look forward to Your return and being present with You forever, may I not be afraid to walk with You in the blessings and authority You have given me through the Revelation of Christ.  Amen.