Angelic Conflict and Revelation 2 and 3

It is only here in Revelation chapter one where John sees a resurrected, ascended Lord that is remarkably different in appearance than He appeared even in resurrection form, and that is because His role has shifted from being the Lord of the church to being the priest-judge of the church.

When we look at 1:17, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead,” the verb that is used here to describe John’s response is then aorist active indicative of PIPTO [piptw]. It is a general word that is used to describe something that falls, something that drops precipitously. Here it indicates that he prostrates himself at the feet of the glorified Christ. It is a word that is generally used in context where a subordinate individual falls on his face in obeisance to a king or to a monarch. Here it is a picture of John falling instantly to the Lord’s feet in an act of worship and reverence, but he falls as if dead. He is so overwhelmed instantly by this vision of the risen Christ. This is the response of the creature when he comes face to face with the creator. Instantly the creature knows who He is and responds the same way every time.

The same is true when we hear the voice of God. Whether a person is a believer or an unbeliever when God speaks in His Word everybody knows that that is God. That is what Romans chapter one is talking about, that God makes His knowledge evident to everybody. It is evident externally through the demonstration of His creation but it is also evident within everyone. They may not recognize it or they may suppress it afterwards but at that initial point of God-consciousness everyone knows that when they hear the Word of God that this is God speaking. But then there are those who go negative and they suppress that truth in unrighteousness, as Romans says. Those who are positive have a different response. Eventually, Philippians chapter two tells us, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

John falls at His feet as dead, and this is also a simile that is used many times in the Scripture. A simile is a figure of speech that uses the words “like” or “as.” What we have here in the Greek is the word HOS [o(j] and that for like or as. The word “dead” is in the plural, “as dead men,” literally. He is not saying he was dead but he is saying he was almost lifeless, he just falls limp, collapses, as it were, before the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s response: “And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me.” This is the aorist active indicative of TITHEMI [tiqhmi], meaning He placed His right hand. Then we have a command, the present active imperative plus the negative ME [mh], “do not be afraid,” “stop being afraid.” There is an indication there from John that he is fearful, and this is a kind of two-edged meaning to the concept of being fearful. We see this in other passages. For example, in Matthew 17:7 when we have the description of John and James and Peter go up with the Lord to the mountain top, and there the Lord is transfigured. They see the glory of Jesus Christ. It was one of the very few times during the incarnation where He unveiled His glory. There was another glimpse of that the night before He went to the cross when the Roman soldiers came to arrest Him and He said: “I am he.” They fell down. They see just a momentary glimpse of His power and His glory. James, John and Peter see it on the mount of transfiguration and they are fearful. So when Jesus appears and speaks to John, John is afraid, he is in awe. It is a combination of the fact that he is a sinner and he is in the presence of the sinless, glorified Jesus Christ as a priest-judge. Also it brings in the idea of awe. He is in awe of who He is, as we all will be when we come into the presence of the Lord.

But he just drops, he is just overwhelmed, and the principle here is that if we have fear in our soul we may have a lot of doctrine but we can’t apply it. When we are afraid of something then that fear controls us. The more that we fear the more things we will fear, and the more things we fear the more room we will give to fear in our life. The more room we give to fear in our life the more things we will fear and we will become incapacitated by fear. This is because our focus is on emotion, not on God, not on the promises, not on the provision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So Jesus Christ gives an imperative command to John to not be afraid, to relax. He was there for a reason. Then He identifies Himself. “I am the first and the last,” HO PROTOS [o( prwtoj] meaning beginning, and HO ESCHATOS [o( e)sxatoj] meaning the last. This is a title of Christ that indicates His eternality. He is the eternal one. As He makes this statement He uses another very pregnant phrase in the Greek, and that is the phrase EGO EIMI [e)gw e)imi], “I am.” This is the present active indicative of the verb meaning to exist. The present tense indicates ongoing existence, and this is the Greek term that corresponds to the proper name of God given in the Old Testament which is referred to as the sacred tetragrammaton, YHWH, which is taken to have as its root meaning “the self-existent one.” The title EGO EIMI is seen to have great significance in John’s writings. Twenty-four times he uses that reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, and there are six specific “I am” expressions in the Gospel of John. “I am the light of the world, the chief shepherd, door of the sheep, the resurrection and the life, the true vine.” These are all titles and every time He says “I am,” that is a subtle reference to His deity. This is what He was referring to when speaking to the Pharisees in John 8:58. Once again there is this identification of Jesus Christ with the God of the Old Testament. The Old Testament pictures God as the self-existing one, the eternal God of the heavens and the earth. Cf. Isaiah 44:6—notice there are two persons there. This is a verse that suggest that there are multiple individuals in the Godhead; Isaiah 48:12. Again, this is stated in Revelation 22:13.

Revelation 1:18, “I am he who lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Here we see Jesus Christ identifying Himself not only as the first and the last, the eternal one, but He is identifying Himself as the incarnate Christ. He was alive and then He was dead, a reference to the crucifixion, and then His resurrection. “I am he who lives” is a present active participle from the verb ZAO [zaw] which means to live or to be alive. In the present participle it indicates ongoing action. The presence of the article indicates that this is to be treated more like a noun, it is the substantive, the title. He is “He who lives,” which is more like a title. He is the everlasting one, the beginning and the end, the always-living one. “I was dead” the aorist active indicative of the verb GINOMAI [ginomai] which means to become, whereas EIMI indicates ongoing existence. GINOMAI emphasizes coming into existence. Then He says, “and, behold,” which is another use of the word IDOU [i)dou], used to call attention to something. “I am alive for evermore.” There he shifts to an interesting Greek construction. He combines what He has used already, and this is for emphasis. He takes a finite verb, EIMI, plus the present tense to indicate ongoing action, and then He combines that with the present active participle of ZAO. The emphasis is on the quality of the participle here which doesn’t have an article with it. It emphasizes the quality of His life in His resurrected state.

In addition He says, “I have (present active indicative of ECHO [e)xw]) the keys of Hades and of death.” “Keys” is a metaphor, a word that is used to transfer meaning from one thing to another. A key is something that opens a lock. Having the keys of Hades and of death indicates that having conquered death through the resurrection Jesus Christ is now sovereign over physical death and He is in control of Hades. Key here is a symbol of power and authority, and it is also used for example, in Revelation 3:7 as indicating the power of opening and closing. Christ is the one who has power now over Hades and over death. So that when a person puts his faith and trust in Jesus Christ then at that instant he has eternal life. He no longer has to fear condemnation and being sentenced to the lake of fire.

In verse 19 He draws a conclusion. “Therefore write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” The conclusion is based on who Jesus Christ is and what he has done. This is the basis for the Christian life. “Therefore write,” present active imperative: write these things now.

Verse 20 provides the introduction to the next section of Revelation, the seven letters to the seven churches. There will be a letter to each of these churches and each letter is addressed to the angel of that church.