The Lord Jesus Christ as
Priest-Judge
Open your Bibles
with me to Revelation 1, and we will continue our review while we all get
caught up to about the same place in our study of Revelation. There are three
sections in Revelation that are really outlined by Revelation 1:19. In that
verse the Lord is commissioning John to write the things that he has seen. That
is the thrust of the section from Revelation 1:9 through the end of the book. In
Revelation 1:19 the Lord says, ÒWrite the things that you have seen.Ó That is
that he has seen already up to that point. ÒThe things which are,Ó that is
present tense and that will be covered in Revelation 2-3. And third, Òthe
things that shall take place after this,Ó and that looks forward to the future,
to yet unfulfilled prophecy.
So we are looking
at the first division in Revelation 1, Òthe things that have been.Ó So if we
were going to outline the chapter, the first chapter is divided into two
sections. There is a prologue in Revelation 1:1-8; and then there is the
commissioning of John to write, and that is in Revelation 1:9-20. So it breaks
down easily into two sections. The first section is the prologue. It is a
preface, a challenge to the readers to listen and respond to the message of the
book. This is most clearly seen in Revelation 1:3 where John says there is a
special blessing to those who teach, as well as to those who heed the message
of Revelation. ÒBlessed is he who reads.Ó The word there in the Greek indicates
public reading of Scripture, not just quietly sitting at home having your
morning devotion, reading through the Text, but hearing it read publically, or
we would say today, in exposition, explaining the meaning of the book of
Revelation.
ÒBlessed is he who
reads,Ó that would be the pastor exegeting and teaching the Word, Òand those
who hear the words of this prophecy and keep the things that are written.Ó
Notice that conjunction. It is not just those who hear it. They are not going
to get a blessing simply because they come to Bible class and hear me teach
through the book of Revelation. It is only if you respond in your soul
positively to the message that is taught; and the basic message in the book of
Revelation is really a warning. It is a challenge to be prepared and a warning
that the time is near, which is how this verse ends. ÒBlessed are those who
read, those who hear and teach the things that are written in it for the time
is near.Ó
We donÕt know when
the Lord is coming back, which is the thrust of this particular book, anymore
than we know when the Lord is going to take us home. We have to be ready. I
remember when I was ordained some 23-24 years ago. The pastor said you had to
be ready to preach, pray or die at a momentÕs notice. And for the believer the
message of Revelation is – we have to be ready to stand before the judgment
seat of Christ at a momentÕs notice. That is really the thrust of the first
four chapters, but the entirety of Revelation deals with this theme of
judgment, that one day God is going to judge everyone. Believers are going to
be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ at the BEMA
seat during the Tribulation period after the Rapture. Unbelievers are going to
be judged on the earth through a horrific series of divine judgments known as
the Great Tribulation.
During that time
many will come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and believe that
He died on the cross for their sin, and tens of thousands of Jews will come to
recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. Then at the end of the Tribulation period
there will be a judgment known as the sheep and goat judgment, separation of
believers from unbelieving Gentiles. There is also going to be a judgment of
Jews at the end of the Tribulation period. That of course is followed by the
establishment of the millennial kingdom. Then at the end of the millennial kingdom
there will be another judgment for all unbelievers known as the great white
throne judgment. So the key idea throughout Revelation is judgment.
It is interesting
that in the course of the history of Christianity two of the most famous
sermons ever preached, especially in the English language, dealt with this
whole theme of judgment. R. G. Lee was a Baptist preacher at the turn of the
last century. He preached a message called ÒPay-Day Someday.Ó Prior to that
there was a message by Jonathan Edwards, who many think was the greatest of all
theologians in American church history and philosopher-theologians. He
certainly was brilliant, but he was post-millennial and had a number of other
problems with his theology as well. But he is well known for his sermon, ÒSinners
in the Hands of an Angry God.Ó And the theme of both messages was judgment. And
the Lord used both of those messages to challenge numerous people to the need
for salvation and maturity in their own Christian life.
When we come face
to face with the reality that one day we will stand before our Lord, and
everything in our life will be evaluated on the criteria of what weÕve done
with what He has given us at salvation, then it changes our perspective.
Unfortunately when we are young we usually donÕt think about the fact that this
is a reality. As we get a little older we begin to realize that life really
isnÕt that long and sooner or later we will be standing before the judgment
seat of Christ. And that realization in our lives is what we refer to when we
talk about living today in light of eternity; starting to make decisions in our
life on a day to day basis because we know that it wonÕt be long before weÕre
standing before the judgment seat of Christ. So the warning at the beginning of
Revelation is Òthe time is near.Ó
Then the next set
of verses, Revelation 1:4-8, is a salutation where John addresses the seven
churches and designates the ultimate source of the revelation, the entire 22
chapters, as having its origin in God, in the Triune God. We see that in
Revelation 1:4 he says, ÒJohn,Ó identifying himself as the apostle John, Òto
the seven churches which are in Asia.Ó That is the Proconsulate province in
western Turkey. ÒGrace to you and peace from HimÓ first of all, He, Òwho is and
who was and who is to come.Ó That is a reference to God the Father. This is not
a reference to any other Member of the Trinity and that third phrase, Òwho is
to comeÓ is really a reference to the fact that when the New Jerusalem is on
the earth in the New Heavens and New Earth, then we will see God the Father
face to face. That has never happened before.
ÒThe seven spirits
who are before His throneÓ is a reference to the full ministry of God the Holy
Spirit, and then in Revelation 1:5 Òfrom Jesus Christ.Ó Jesus Christ is
emphasized in this salutation with two sets of triplets:
1. He is
identified as Òthe faithful witness.Ó This is a reference to His mission during
the Incarnation, during the time that He was on the earth in public ministry.
2. The phrase Òthe
first born from the deadÓ summarizes and encapsulates in one phrase everything
that He did on the cross. It refers to His death, burial, resurrection, and
ascension. ÒThe first born from the deadÓ focuses of course on the
resurrection, but that is the conclusion of the process of what took place on
the cross in terms of death, burial and resurrection.
3. ÒThe ruler over
the kings of the earthÓ and this anticipates His future role when He returns at
the Second Coming to take His rightful place as the ruler over the kings of the
earth.
And then there is
a dedication to Him. He is:
1. ÒThe one who
loves us,Ó present tense.
2. ÒHe washed us
from our sinsÓ by means of ÒHis own blood,Ó referring to the work of
redemption.
3. ÒAnd has made
us kings and priests to His God,Ó a reference to the end result of
sanctification.
You see we have to
recognize that the purpose of salvation isnÕt simply to end up in heaven. The
purpose of salvation is to prepare us as His bride and as His body to rule and
reign with Him during the millennial kingdom. So from the moment you are saved
until you die physically, God is working in your life to prepare you to operate
in the messianic administration during the millennial kingdom. Our destiny is
to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way we can learn to do
that is by going through this process of spiritual growth during our time on
the earth. He has made us kings and priest to His God. We will serve as priests
in the millennial kingdom, and we will rule and reign over the angels. 1
Corinthians 4 teaches that we are going to rule over the angels.
Our last lesson
ended right at Revelation 1:7 which talks about this future coming. It is as if
the apostle, having talked about Jesus and His future reign, suddenly
recognizes that HeÕs coming back. He announces it, ÒBehold, He is coming with
the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the
tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.Ó This phrase that
Òevery eye will see HimÓ derives from an Old Testament (OT) passage, Zechariah
12:10. Zechariah 12:10 reads, ÒAnd I will pour on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will
look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for
his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.Ó This looks
forward. This prophecy in Zechariah 12 looks forward to that time at the end of
the Tribulation, at the end of that period known as the day of the Lord, when
the Messiah comes into His own and establishes His kingdom. It is at that time
that there will be a massive revival, a genuine revival, when vast numbers of
Jews finally accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is at this time that the
Lord says, ÒI will pour out upon the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and
supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.Ó
When we look at
Revelation 1:7 it states that Jesus is Òcoming with the cloudsÓ Now it is
important to pay attention to that phraseology, ÒHe is coming with the clouds.Ó
In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which is a Rapture passage, we are told that at the
time of the Rapture Òwe who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds.Ó Now there is a difference in this phrase Òin the
clouds,Ó which is a locative concept. It indicates a location in the clouds;
and the phrase in Revelation 1:7 Òwith the clouds.Ó The phrase Òwith the
cloudsÓ has tremendous meaning if we understand the imagery from the OT. There
will be a time of tremendous darkness and clouds at the Second Coming. LetÕs
look at a couple of passages in Revelation, Revelation 14:14-16 specifically.
John says, ÒThen I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One
like the Son of Man.Ó So here is a picture at the end of the Tribulation where
John looks and thereÕs this white cloud and on the cloud there is standing the
Lord Jesus Christ, designated the Son of Man, because that picks up the imagery
from Daniel 7, that it is the Son of Man who comes to destroy the kingdoms of
man at the end of the Tribulation and establishes His own kingdom.
So there is a
direct connection here with OT Messianic expectation. ÒI looked and behold, a
white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a
golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the
temple (that is the temple in heaven in context), crying with a loud voice to
Him who sat on the cloud, ÒThrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has
come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.Ó This is just at
the end of the Tribulation. Revelation 14:16, ÒSo He who sat on the cloud
thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.Ó This is the
imagery that is used of that final judgment that leads up to and is culminated
in the Battle of Armageddon.
This same imagery
of the clouds is used by the Lord in Matthew 24:30. There, when it is talking
about His return, He said, ÒThen the sign of the Son of Man will appear in
heaven.Ó Notice, the Lord used that same designation, Son of Man. Every time
you see that designation in the New Testament (NT) you ought to immediately go
back to the imagery of Daniel 7, ÒThen the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.Ó So
once again clouds are associated with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
There are numerous
OT passages that reference clouds, but perhaps the most significant are Joel
2:1-2 and Zephaniah 1:14-15. These two passages describe the coming of the Lord
in judgment as a day of wrath, a day of trouble, a day of distress, darkness,
gloominess, clouds, and thick darkness. And it is in the midst of this dramatic
scene that the Lord comes with the clouds and comes for the purpose of
executing judgment. Now this is the picture. We start off with Revelation 1:1-3
in the introduction; and John ends with saying, Òfor the time is near.Ó This is
a warning: believer, prepare yourself. Then he begins a salutation. He
addresses it to the seven churches that are in Asia. He gives the salutation
from the Holy Spirit, and then from the Son. When he comes to the Son He ends
with this focus on His coming with the clouds for judgment.
Everything that we
see in Revelation 1 focuses on judgment. Jesus Christ is coming to judge. This
isnÕt just a picture of Jesus Christ in His glory and His power, but Revelation
1 is setting us up for what Jesus Christ is going to do in relationship to
local churches in chapters 2-3. There is judgment not just coming, but there is
on-going judgment on the church during the church age. He is constantly working
to purify the church and to prepare believers today for that future
responsibility to rule and reign with Him. So as we read through this, always
think in terms of Judgment. This is the imagery.
Now coming to
Revelation 1:8 we have to do a little technical work here, and we will in
Revelation 1:9 as well due to the fact that there are some problems that
occurred in the transmission of the Text over time. It is not that we donÕt
have the original. It is that as you copy manuscripts down through time,
sometimes scribes inadvertently insert things. Some times a scribe will write a
commentary or a note in the margin and then the next one that copies that
manuscript inserts it. The study of comparing ancient manuscripts is known as textual
criticism and it is practiced for any ancient document, whether you are
studying Caesar, whether youÕre studying Homer, whether youÕre studying
Shakespeare, or whether you are studying someone like Thomas Aquinas, or
Voinovich, or some theologian in the Middle Ages.
There are various
manuscripts and youÕll always hear some skeptic come along and say, Òwell, you
see, there are these various differences; how can you know for sure what the
Bible says originally?Ó If they apply the same criteria to other literature
that they apply to the Bible then weÕd have to throw away all of Shakespeare,
all of Caesar, all of Homer, and everything else in the ancient world, because
many of the ancient documents that we have, Herodotus, Acedias, Caesar, are
based on just one or two or, in some cases, a dozen or fifteen copies that date
to within only 800 or a 1000 years of the original. We just have a few
manuscripts, and in some cases only one manuscript that may have survived or
may be dated to about the 9th or 10th century A.D. But
when it comes to the NT we have over 5000 manuscripts.
Now it is very
easy to pair manuscripts that you have in order to reconstruct the original. If
I were to read a passage of Scripture to you and have every one take out their
notebook and write down what I said, there would be some mistakes. Some of you
would miss a word; some of you would add something; some of you would maybe
misspell a few words; then when we got done, letÕs say the original was lost.
All we have are these copies. Many of you would have an exact copy. So by
taking 70 or 80 different copies we could easily reconstruct the original. It
wouldnÕt be hard. We would easily be able to discover the errors that entered
in. It is not rocket science. It can get very difficult and complicated because
you enter into all kinds of probabilities and other things that come along, but
itÕs pretty easy to reconstruct the original.
Now what we have
in Revelation 1:8 are both some additions and deletions. If you are working
with the King James or New King James, youÕll notice that it varies a lot from
what you find in New American Standard or NIV (New International Version). As a
reminder, there are two views on how to work through textual problems. One is
the assumption that whatÕs in the older manuscripts is best. The other view is
that the majority, that which is read in the majority of manuscripts, is most
likely the correct reading. I am really simplifying this. It is much more
complicated than that, but that is a pretty simple way to cover it for our
purposes.
The interesting thing
is that these differences found in Revelation 1, and there is a number of them,
is what makes the exegesis of this chapter so challenging. A number of these
differences the older manuscripts and the majority of manuscripts actually agree
on. It was that small collection of eight or nine manuscripts that made up the
Textus Receptus, or the Received Text, that was the basis of the King James
translation where we have a problem. So what we have in Revelation 1:8, if you
read it in King James or New King James, reads, ÒI am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End,Ó says the Lord, Òwho is and who was and who is to
come, the Almighty.Ó But when you compare it with the majority of manuscripts
as well as the older manuscripts, the phrase Òthe Beginning and the EndÓ isnÕt
there. And the word GOD is present.
Now why is that
important? The reason itÕs important is because for generations you had
scholars studying, and in many cases they didnÕt know the original language, or
if they did they just had the Textus Receptus. TheyÕre studying in the original
and they came to some definite conclusions about who was speaking here in
Revelation 1:8. And their conclusion was that this was the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so many people, when they read this and they see that title the Alpha and
the Omega they immediately identify that as the Lord Jesus Christ. But once you
factor out the phrases, the phrase Òthe Beginning and the EndÓ, which is a
title for the Lord Jesus Christ, and you recognize that the most accurate early
manuscripts would have had Lord God, not simply Lord, then it becomes clear
that the person who is speaking here is God the Father, not God the Son. And
the phrase Lord God is used almost exclusively in the Scripture to refer to God
the Father.
The phrase in the
Greek for Lord-God is KURIOS HO
THEOS and it is used only ten
times in the NT, only one of which is outside the book of Revelation and that
is in Luke 1:32, which reads ÒHe will be great, and will be called the Son of
the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.Ó So
it is clear from the context who does God refer to then? It can only refer to
the Father because itÕs taking about the Son. So the phrase Lord God in Luke at
least refers to God the Father. If you go through and examine other uses of it
in the book of Revelation, it is also clear that it is a phrase that refers to
God the Father, especially when it is used in conjunction with the term Òthe
AlmightyÓ. And again and again in Revelation you have God the Father referred
to as the ÒAlmighty.Ó For example, in Revelation 4:8, the four living creatures
sing to the One on the throne, who is God the Father, ÒHoly, Holy, Holy, Lord
God Almighty.Ó
You see the same
scenario in Revelation 11:17, ÒWe give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One
who is and who was and who is to come.Ó Again, that same phraseology; that same
description that we had back in Revelation 1:4 for God the Father. Revelation
15:3 ÒThey sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb
saying, ÒGreat and marvelous are Your works Lord God Almighty.Ó Notice the
distinction in that verse between the Lamb on the one hand, who is the second person
of the Trinity, and the Lord God Almighty. In another passage where it is also
clear is in Revelation 16:7. The point is that what we have in Revelation 1:8
is a statement from God the Father. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Now that
phrase is also applied to the Lord Jesus Christ later in Revelation, but only
once does it refer to the Lord Jesus Christ. ItÕs a phrase for eternity. It is
a descriptive image of eternity, Alpha being the first letter in the Greek
alphabet and Omega being the last letter in the Greek alphabet. It was a phrase
indicating eternality, the beginning and the end. You donÕt have to repeat that
phrase.
ÒI am the Alpha
and the Omega says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty. ÒSo we have three descriptive titles here:
1. The Alpha and Omega – clearly, if you trace it out through Revelation,
it is always applied to the Father until the last use.
2. Lord God always
refers to the Father - Òwho is and who was and who is to comeÓ is only applied
to the Father.
3. ÒThe AlmightyÓ
is only applied to the Father, which makes it clear that this (Revelation 1:8)
is a statement from the Father.
So now we have to
answer the question: why suddenly at the end of this section do we have this
insertion, almost an interjection, from the Father? And it is a statement of
authenticity. We have a salutation beginning in Revelation 1:4 and extending
down to Revelation 1:7, and then the Father gives His stamp of authority on
this message. Remember back in Revelation 1:1. The first verse begins, ÒThe
revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him,Ó that is Jesus Christ. So you
have the origin, the ultimate origin of the book of Revelation coming from God
the Father. God the Father gives this body of information to the Son and the
Son then discloses it or reveals it to His servants. And at the end of this
opening introduction, this prologue, God the Father puts His stamp of
authentication on this message. It comes from the throne of the Lord God
Almighty. So we are to pay particularly close attention to it.
Then we come to
the next section, Revelation 1:9. Revelation 1:0 down to the end of the chapter
can basically be summarized as the divine commission to John to write. If you
think about the verbs in Revelation 1:9 John says, ÒI was on the island that is
called Patmos. I heard a loud voice behind me saying to write,Ó a command to
write. That command to write is reiterated down in Revelation 1:18-19. He says ÒI
was on the island (stated verb) that is called Patmos. I heard a loud voice
behind me, as of a trumpet. I turned to look at the voice and I sawÉÓ; then you
have a lengthy description of what he saw and it concludes with the fact thatÉ.
actually all this just took about two or three seconds. It is a dramatic scene.
John is just quietly sitting on Patmos looking over the Aegean Sea, enjoying
the view and thinking about the Lord, and all of a sudden heÕs in the Spirit,
which is a phrase, a term, that is used uniquely in Revelation for being in a
state to receive revelation. It is not the same as being filled with the
Spirit.
Being filled with
the Spirit is not a revelatory state. But every time we have this phrase ÒI was
in the SpiritÓ John received revelation. He is given these visions. That is
completely different from what any believer in the Church Age experiences when
we are filled with the Spirit. So John is in a unique position. He says ÒI was
in the Spirit on the LordÕs DayÓ. Again he will say that heÕs in the Spirit
when we come to Revelation 4. That is when he is transported into heaven and he
sees what is going on around the throne of God when he gets to heaven. So in
Revelation 1:9 he identifies himself again, ÒI, John, both your brother and
companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.Ó And
this again is a verse that needs a little tweaking because of some textual
problems. It should not be handled ÒJohn, both your brother.Ó It is just ÒI,
John, your brother and companion.Ó Then we have an interesting phraseology here
called an HENDIATRIS.
A figure of speech
known as a HENDIADYS is when you take two words and link them
together with a conjugation in such a way that both of them describe the same
thing. For example a pastor-teacher, that is a HENDIADYS. But the DYS at the end is two words. This is when you have three
words linked by a conjunction and they all refer to basically the same thing.
They are viewed as a tight unit. And we should translate this not ÒtribulationÓ
because that has overtones of the Great Tribulation, but simply a word for
ongoing adversity in the believerÕs life. ÒBoth your brother and companion.Ó
Pastors and apostles werenÕt any different from any other believer. We all have
to go through adversity to grow. And in the midst of adversity we learn to
trust God, and when you continue to apply doctrine day in and day out that is
called endurance. And you canÕt grow and advance in the spiritual life without
endurance, without hanging in there, without applying the Word consistently
over a long period of time.
That is the third
word we have in this triplet here. We have the word:
1. Tribulation,
which indicates the adversity in the spiritual life, the Greek word THIPSIS.
2. Kingdom - that
is what we are being prepared for.
3. Endurance, the
word HUPOMONE, which has the basic idea of staying under
something.
That is what
endurance is. Endurance isnÕt Òoh, IÕm in adversity now; IÕm going through
this; letÕs figure out a way out because I want life to be easy; I want every
thing to go smoothly; and I want the Lord to just bless me. The LordÕs not
blessing me unless everything is going good.Ó Your popular secular Christian
life is that if weÕre doing everything right then itÕs going to be easy. But in
the Christian life when we are doing everything right, it may get very
difficult. We may go through a lot of adversity and testing in order to give us
the opportunity to utilize these stress busters, the problem solving devices,
so that we can grow and advance in our spiritual lives. ThatÕs the only way we
can grow according to James 1:2-4 where we are told to Òcount it all joy, my
brethren, when you encounterÓ what? ÒVarious trials (causal adverbial participle)
because you know that the testing of your faith, that is your doctrine,
produces endurance, HUPOMONE. And let endurance have its maturing
consequence that you may be mature and sufficient in all things.Ó
I hate to tell
you, to burst your bubble, but if you are going to grow to maturity in the
spiritual life you have to go through a lot of adversity. And the key to
passing those tests is endurance. And the end result is that this is headed for
preparation for the kingdom. So it should be translated with hyphens. I would
translate it adversity-kingdom-endurance. It is one idea. This is all
interconnected. ThatÕs the impact of the syntax here if John is our brother and
companion in the adversity-kingdom-endurance of Jesus Christ. And then he says,
ÒI was on the island called Patmos,Ó literally because of the Word of God and
because of the testimony of Jesus Christ; so he has been sentenced to prison,
as it were, on the island of Patmos. He is not under house arrest there. He can
walk all over the island, and it is quite roomy as we see here. This is a
picture coming into the harbor. It is kind of a horseshoe shape.
The lower level
here on the left is the center of the horseshoe. ThatÕs where the main harbor
is. But John had full access to the entire island. So he was walking around on
the LordÕs Day and he sat down at some point, and church tradition says that it
was in this area.
And there is a
cave here under the building where the Greek Orthodox built a chapel; and it is
in that cave that allegedly he had his vision in Revelation 1. Now we donÕt
know that. He could have been anywhere, but thatÕs the legend. This is another
look at the building built over the cave where John allegedly had the vision.
I tend to think
that he was probably just enjoying the beautiful view and then suddenly instead
of looking at that gorgeous blue Aegean Sea he saw the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said in Revelation 1:10, ÒI was in the Spirit on the LordÕs Day, and I heard
behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.Ó It probably blasted him right out of
his seat. The voice said, and here we have another textual issue that requires
a lot of time dealing with, Revelation 1:11; in the King James and New King
James it seems to indicate again that this is Jesus speaking, so Alpha and
Omega, we just saw that a couple of verses earlier; so that would be Jesus. But
we see that was inserted later. It is not in most of the manuscripts. It is not
in the older manuscripts. It is not in the majority text. So just scratch out,
if youÕve got a King James or New King James, just scratch out ÒI am the Alpha
and the Omega, the First and the Last.Ó
He hears a loud
voice saying, ÒWhat you see, write in a book and send it to the seven
churches.Ó And again, it doesnÕt repeat Òthat are in Asia.Ó That has already
been stated earlier. And then the seven churches are identified: Òto Ephesus,
to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.Ó
Now the point that I want to emphasize here is that he is to take everything he
sees and write it in a book. He is going to send that book to the seven
churches. Now when we get to Revelation 2-3 there are going to be seven little
postcards to these churches. But donÕt get the idea that they are sent
individually. It is the whole book that is sent. When John got the original
revelation, he wrote it down and made seven copies. Those seven copies of the
totality of Revelation 1-22 were sent to each church so that each congregation
would have a copy of the entire revelation.
Revelation 1:12,
then he turns Òto see the voice that spoke withÓ him. And when he turns he
begins to describe for us what he saw. Now it takes several verses to describe
what he saw, but it hit his consciousness immediately even though it takes some
time to describe it. But in reality all this takes place in just a few seconds.
He turns, he sees, and as he is hit with what he sees he falls on his face much
as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6 and many others in the Scripture. When they come face
to face with the Lord Jesus Christ in His glory they fall on their face. Now
letÕs just summarize this. There are eleven different figures that are used in
the imagery her3, and weÕve gone through them in detail; at least those who have
studied the previous lessons in this series. So letÕs just hit the high spots:
1. He saw seven
golden lampstands. In Revelation 20 we are told those seven lampstands
represent the seven churches. Now in the OT the lampstand that you had in the
tabernacle and the temple was one lampstand that had seven distinct bowls. That
one lampstand represented the unity of the nation Israel. But here you donÕt
have one lampstand, you have seven distinct lampstands and they represent the
function of each congregation as being a light to the world. So in the present
dispensation the church is the means of distribution of the light of revelation
and Truth. The seven lampstands
represent the completeness of the provision of the church. The church is
sufficient to the task. The seven individual lampstands represent the idea that
the church is not a unified nation like Israel. We are one in the body of
Christ, but the lampstands represent autonomous congregations.
2. Then the next thing that we see here is the manlike figure, One like
the Son of man. This of course picks up the imagery from Daniel 7:9. Daniel,
who at the time was analogous to a prime minister or secretary of state in the
Babylonian Empire; he was involved in daily political developments. And during
that time God gave him various revelations that related to future times. For
example, you had the explanation of NebuchadnezzarÕs dream in Daniel 2, where
Nebuchadnezzar saw the tremendous image that was really an outline of human history.
There it pictured the kingdoms of man as man sees them. It is the beautiful
image with a head of gold and a torso of silver and the waist of bronze, and
this is how man looks at manÕs kingdoms. We look at Rome and Greece and all
these great empires in terms of how much they accomplish, but Daniel looks at
these in terms of GodÕs perspective. The empires of man are represented as
beasts because they are not fulfilling GodÕs intention for man, but all the
political empires of history are represented as beastly. We have a high view of
what the Babylonians and the Persians and the Romans and the Greeks
accomplished, but God doesnÕt because those were pagan empires. So he looks at
them from a different vantage point. And so we see these four beasts:
And at the end of time these empires are going to be destroyed and
replaced by the Lord Jesus Christ Who is referenced as the Son of Man because
in His reign He represents true humanity. Daniel 7:9 says ÒI kept looking until
the thrones were set up.Ó This is after the destruction of these kingdoms.
ÒUntil the thrones were set up, and the Ancient of DaysÓ that is God the Father
Òtook His seat, His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like
pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames; its wheels were a burning fire.Ó
Daniel 7:10 ÒA river of fire was flowing and coming out from before HimÓ; this
is a picture of the throne room of God that is not unlike that of Revelation 4.
WeÕll make those comparisons when we get there. ÒThousands upon thousands were
tending Him.Ó These would be the myriads upon myriads of angels referenced in
Revelation 4. ÒAnd myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court
sat, and the books were opened.Ó So it is a picture of judgment.
And then Daniel 7:13 ÒI kept looking in the night visions, and behold,
with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and he came up to
the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.Ó Daniel 7:14 ÒAnd to Him was
given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.Ó So this picture of judgment takes place
at the end of the Tribulation and is a heavenly scene where the kingdom is
given to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ doesnÕt have a kingdom
until then. He has the title ÒKingÓ but it isnÕt activated until the end of the
Tribulation. Daniel 7:14 ÒAnd to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom
that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom
is one which will not be destroyed.Ó
So when Daniel speaks of the ÒSon of ManÓ he is thinking of it in this
Messianic sense. And it is at this point that judgment responsibility is
delegated to the Son from the Father, John 5:22, Jesus said, ÒFor the Father
judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.Ó Now this introduces
this aspect that is so crucial to understanding Revelation 1. That it is
picturing Jesus not as the Priest-Intercessor, which is what we get out of
Hebrews, but it is a picture of Jesus as the Priest-Judge. The whole picture
here reinforces this.
3. He is clothed with a garment down to the feet. The term used in the
Greek here for down to the feet is PODERE, which comes
out of an OT context and is used as the robe of the high priest. So that would
remind the reader whoÕs knowledgeable of the OT of a priestly garment. In
Ezekiel 9:11 this word is used to describe the clothing of the man with the
inkhorn in a scene that is dealing again with the idea of judgment. So the long
robe represents the office held by the one wearing the robe.
4. He is girded about with a golden band. This same idea is present in
Daniel 10:5 where Daniel says, ÒI lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a
certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz!Ó ItÕs
a picture of someone who is in a high office. It pictures someone of royal
dignity. So Jesus is pictured here as someone with a high office and one of
dignity. It is an image that speaks of someone who is a judge, someone who is a
priest.
5. He is described as having white hair, white like wool, as white as
snow. And again it takes up imagery from the OT. You canÕt understand the NT
without understanding the OT. You can understand some things, but every
dimension of this description and what Jesus says at the end is based upon OT
prophecy. Revelation is the culmination of everything that is said in the OT
plus prophecies in the NT and you canÕt just jump into this and start, oh, IÕm
going to interpret this anyway I want to and just start grabbing metaphorical
images to figure out what it says. The white here is a reminder of Daniel 7:9,
Òthe Ancient of DaysÓ Whose Òvesture was like white snow and the hair of His
head was like pure wool.Ó It is identifying the Son here with that judicial
role of the Father described in Daniel 7:9. The whiteness emphasizes purity. Remember,
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. This is the picture of the
integrity that God has in judgment.
6. Revelation 1:14 states that the Son of Man had eyes like fire. This
is referenced later in the letter to Thyatira, where there will be a reference
to the One whose eyes were like flames of fire. This again has an OT
background, Daniel 10:6 talks about the One whose body was like beryl, his face
like lightening, his eyes like torches of fire. It speaks of purity, judgment,
insight and omniscience.
7. The feet are refined, shining metal, Revelation 1:15. The Greek word
here is CHALKOLIBANO, which is not found anywhere else. This is
the only time we have this word. We donÕt know what it means. Is it bronze; is
it brass; is it gold; is it silver; is it platinum? We donÕt know. It is a kind
of metal that is bright and shining. Again you have this image of purity.
Something that is so bright that you want to shield your eyes. And of course
this speaks of something that has been refined in a fiery furnace. So it is
pure; therefore, it speaks of the qualifications of the One who judges.
8. His voice is like the sound of many waters, Revelation 1:15. It is
loud. It is overwhelming. If youÕve ever stood at the shore by Niagara Falls,
you canÕt hear yourself think. That is the sound of the voice. It is
overwhelming. This too has a basis in the OT. A quote from Ezekiel 43:2 ÒAnd
behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice
(that is the voice of God) was like the sound of many waters.Ó
9. He has seven stars in His right hand, Revelation 1:16. Notice there
is a distinction here, which we will come back to, between the stars in His
right hand and the churches HeÕs walking in the midst of. TheyÕre distinct. So
He has these seven stars in His right hand who are later described in
Revelation 1:20 as the seven angels of the seven churches.
10. Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, Revelation 1:16. This
is the Greek word RHOMPHAIA, a sword that was used in judgment.
Revelation 19:15, when Jesus returns Òout of His mouth goes a sharp sword, a RHOMPHAIA, that He should strike the nations.Ó So this is not
the MACHAIRA used of the Word of God, but the RHOMPHAIA, which is used for judgment. Also in Revelation 19:21
Òthe rest were killed with the swordÓ with the RHOMPHAIA, which proceeded from His mouthÓ So the picture here is of someone
coming in judgment.
11. His countenance is like the brilliance of the sun, Revelation 1:16.
This summarizes the whole image. The white hair, the shining feet and legs,
everything; His countenance is like the brilliance of the sun. It is
overwhelming and as a result when John sees Him he falls at His feet as if
dead, Revelation 1:17, ÒI fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His
right hand on me, saying, ÒDo not be afraid; I am the first and the last.Ó
And here we see three things that Jesus says which indicate His Person:
1. I am the first and the last. Again, phraseology that comes out of
the OT, Isaiah 44:6, which you can compare with Isaiah 48:12. There Isaiah
hears the voice of God saying, ÒI am the first and I am the last, besides Me
there is no God.Ó So Jesus is identifying Himself as full deity. We live in an
age today where people want to challenge this notion about the deity of Christ.
ÒHeÕs not really God.Ó That was a notion that was dreamed up by Constantine in
the 4th century, A. D. 325. It was imposed on the ecclesiastical
hierarchy that met at Nicea. You can see this in the garbage that is promoted
in the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, who doesnÕt know anything about history and
knows even less about theology, but has an agenda, which is to attack
Christianity with numerous lies so that he can discredit it because he has a
hatred for biblical Christianity. His claim is that the church imposed deity on
Christ at a later date, but here you have clear evidence from Revelation dated
in A. D. 95 that the church from the very beginning, in fact, Jesus Himself
claimed to be deity. This isnÕt something that was added later on. The OT
anticipated a divine Savior.
2. I am the living One. This has OT roots as well, Joshua 3:10; Psalm
42:2; Hosea 1:10. In the OT God is characteristically described as the living
God in contrast to the pagan idols of wood and stone and metal.
3. Jesus said, Ò I have the keys of death and of Hades.Ó The rabbis had
a saying that there were three keys which belonged to God and which He would
share with no other: the key of birth, key of reign, and the key of raising the
dead. The statement ÒI have the keys of death and of HadesÓ is a metaphor for
saying I have power over death, because Jesus Christ conquered death in the
resurrection. And the only way that we can conquer death is to be identified
with Christ, and that comes when we put our faith alone in Christ alone.
The point that we see here is that throughout this imagery the book of
Revelation clearly portrays Jesus as fully divine. He is fully God, Eternal
God. He is identified closely with the God of the OT. He is identified closely
with God the Father, and He is the One who is qualified to judge us because He
was the One who was incarnate on the earth. He went through all the sufferings,
every category of suffering and testing and temptation just like us; and yet He
passed the test. And so when He judges us we are not judged by someone who
hasnÕt gone through what weÕve gone through. We canÕt say, Òwell, you just
donÕt know what itÕs like Lord.Ó The Lord is going to say, ÒOh, but I do; IÕve
been through it all.Ó And so we wonÕt have a leg to stand on. This whole
imagery here is a warning to us that one day, someday, we will stand before the
Lord Jesus Christ and there will be an evaluation. Not of our sins; that was
paid for! But positively, what have we done with that spiritual life? What have
we done with all those assets that He gave us? What have we done to prepare ourselves
for our future ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ?