Jesus Christ: Preview of Judgment;
Review of Rev. 1: 8 -.
One of the most dominating
images of Jesus Christ in Revelation—there are several key images—is that of Jesus Christ as judge. That is what we see at the
last part of the first chapter. The vision that John had while he was on the
island of Patmos is a vision of the risen Lord Jesus
Christ, but the way He is dressed, the vocabulary that is used to describe Him,
His visage, is all that of a priest-judge. He is the priest-judge who is about
to come to judge the world. As the priest-judge He is holding in His hand the
seven stars which represent the church, and so it is emphasizing His role
toward the church, not just as our savior but as a
priest-judge, that he will evaluate us. Of course, we know that that comes at a
judgement seat called the judgment seat of Christ, the evaluation judgment of
church age believers. The judgment seat of Christ occurs during the seven-year
Tribulation.
One of these images of Christ
is expressed in Revelation 14:14-16, “I looked, and there before me was a white
cloud, and seated on the cloud was one ‘like a son of man’ with a crown of gold
on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the
temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Take
your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the
earth is ripe.’ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the
earth, and the earth was harvested.” The image is of the Lord Jesus Christ as
the Son of Man bringing judgment upon the nations. That term “son of man” is
also used in the vision of Revelation chapter one where Jesus sees one like the
son of man. So what does that term mean? It is a term that goes back to Daniel
chapter seven, for the Son of Man is the Messiah who comes at the end of
history to destroy the kingdoms of man and to establish His kingdom over
against those of the kingdom of man. This term, son of man, is one that is
pregnant with significance from the Old Testament as well as Jesus’ frequent
reference to Himself as the Son of Man. Revelation 14:16 concludes by saying,
“So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the
earth was harvested,” a very dynamic and powerful image of the Lord Jesus
Christ bringing judgment upon the earth during the Tribulation as he brings all
of history to its conclusion. So it is this idea of judgment, accountability
and evaluation that dominates the book of Revelation.
Revelation 1:8, “I am the
Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God [God the Father], who is, and who was,
and who is to come, the Almighty.” “The Almighty” refers exclusively to God the
Father in the book of Revelation. The King James Bible (Textus Receptus) has traditionally been taken as referring to an
utterance by the Lord Jesus Christ, but He is not the one speaking here.
Remember it was the Father who gave the revelation to the Lord Jesus Christ
back in verse one. Luke 1:32, “He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” This
is the only time the phrase “Lord God” is used outside of the book of
Revelation, and who does it refer to? God the Father.
Cf. Revelation 4:8;
Revelation 1:9, the occasion
of this revelation to John in approximately AD 95. “I, John, your brother and companion in the
suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the
Revelation
Revelation 1:11, the content
of the message: “which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the
seven churches: to
Revelation 1:12, 13, “I
turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw
seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a
robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.” We
know what the lampstands refer to because they are
identified in the last verse. Each lampstand
represents one of these congregations. The “son of man” phrase again pictures
that son of man personage in Daniel chapter seven who is a political figure, a
military figure, who comes and destroys the kingdom of man and establishes His
own kingdom. So he is one who is going to come in judgment as he establishes
His kingdom at the end of the age. Son of Man is a messianic title related to
Jesus Christ’s coming at the Second Advent. Cf. John 5:22. The garment that He
is wearing is the garment of a priest, so that pictures Him as a priest and a
judge. The golden band about the chest is something reminiscent of a messenger
priest, someone of a high office. Cf. Daniel 10:5.
Revelation 1:14, “His head
and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing
fire.” His head and hair being as white as wool represents
Him as being purified. This is what happened at the cross. It is a
picture of Him as the one with authority, one who has been purified. It is an
indication in Scripture of maturity and experience. Cf. Daniel 10:6 where the
Ancient of Days has hair that is white like wool. It indicates a position of
wisdom and authority. Eyes like blazing fire indicates
that they see everything. It is not only a picture of omniscience but of seeing
and knowing with the purpose of judging and evaluating.
Revelation 1:15, “His feet
were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice
was like the sound of rushing waters.” The sound is that of a roar that catches
John’s attention.
Revelation 1:16, “In his
right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged
sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” The seven candlesticks
are distinct from the seven stars. The seven stars, we are told in verse 20,
are going to refer to the angels or messengers related to the seven
congregations. Angels always relate to the execution of divine judgment. The
whole image that we have here in Revelation chapter one is of the Lord Jesus
Christ as priest-judge who is holding these seven angels in His hand. It
indicates His control and for the function of these angels to be consistent
with the whole book it has something to do with carrying out judgment. The
seven epistles in chapters two and three are evaluation statements, judgment
statements with a warning and a promise at the end of each one that the one who
overcomes will receive certain blessings. So it makes sense that they must be
interpreted within this context of judgment and evaluation.
Revelation 1:17, “When I saw
him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and
said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’” This isn’t the Lord he
associated with when He was incarnate on the planet,
this is a powerful vision that almost knocks him dead.
Revelation
Revelation 1:19, the
commission: “"Write, therefore, what you have seen [chapter one], what is
now [the church age] and what will take place later [after the church has been raptured and evaluated].”
Revelation 1:20, the interpretation: “The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” The Word of God always interprets itself.