Revelation 1:12 – 20 “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,f 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. 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.
Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this. This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
Throughout John’s time with Jesus, he was the disciple closest to Jesus. John was described as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and was also the one to whom Jesus assigned the care of his mother Mary when Jesus was dying on the cross. When Jesus arose from the dead, John was there for every major event. If anybody would recognize Jesus, it would be John.
The last time John had seen Jesus, Jesus was ascending into heaven and was still dressed as he had been throughout his ministry on earth. But now John was encountering the risen and glorified Jesus as the Son of God as well as Son of Man. It’s interesting that the description John gives of Jesus as the Son of Man is identical with that given by the prophet Daniel when he was describing his visions. The overall impression is one of inutterable brightness and purity. No wonder that when John saw Jesus in this fashion, he fell at Jesus’s feet like a dead man!
If you ask many people for their idea of what Jesus looks like, you might get some kind of a stained glass window image – a skinny, pale, undernourished man with long hair and a beard and a sorrowful look on his face as if his dinner had not agreed with him. Not a particularly appealing image! But nothing could be further from the truth about Jesus as the risen and conquering Son of God and Son of Man. If your idea of Jesus is that of a simpering stained glass window figure, forget it! That figure only existed in the mind of some artist.
“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…” Through subjecting Himself to death as a perfect sinless sacrifice, Jesus overcame death and hell. What no mortal man could do, Jesus has accomplished for all time. And Jesus was assuring John that He was alive forevermore. Never again would John have to follow Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to the High Priests’ House or to the Roman Praetorium or even to Calvary. All that has been done away with and Jesus is now triumphant.
Jesus was holding seven stars in His right hand. These stars were the seven angels guarding the seven churches to which the revelation was to be circulated. The seven lampstands were the seven churches. These churches were selected to serve as lights in the darkness surrounding them in the Roman province of Asia.
All Christians are supposed to be lights in a dark world. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 – 16”You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” If we truly follow Jesus, people will see His glory, His grace, and His love shining through us and will be attracted to that light… or repelled. Those who are hungry for the light of God will be attracted. Those who have already turned away from God will be repelled.
It is incredibly comforting to know that Jesus was holding the angels guarding those churches in His right hand. Traditionally, the right hand has always been the hand of blessing and honor. Those churches and the people in them were so precious to Jesus that he was guarding the guardians. Many times we wonder if anyone cares for us at all. Take heart! Jesus loved you so much that he suffered, bled, and died for your sins. You are every bit as precious to Jesus as were those seven churches with their angels.
“Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.” God doesn’t choose just anybody to write down His Word. Throughout the ages, God has chosen those who loved Him and who would carefully listen to His voice to transmit his Will and his Teachings. Now Jesus was commissioning John, his closest human friend, to record this vision. What an honor! What a privilege! How scary could it get? By this point, John’s knees were probably knocking together in anxiety and fright….. and yet…. and yet, this was Jesus, John’s closest Friend. Jesus, who knew John better than he knew himself. Jesus, who had loved John even before the foundations of the world and who was now calling John to do one final great work for him. It must have been with fear and trembling that John agreed and waited on the vision.
I once saw a book entitled, “Here Am I, God. Send Aaron.” The thought was that Moses probably wished God had chosen his brother Aaron to lead Israel rather than forcing him into leadership. Many times we might feel totally inadequate to fulfill the calling God puts on our lives. But we should rest assured that if God calls us, He will empower us.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to listen for your voice and to look for you to break into our lives. Help us to follow hard after you and to trust that if you call us to do a difficult thing, you will give us the power to carry out that calling. Thank you for loving us! Thank you that Jesus is not a poor dying figure on a cross or a dead body in a grave, but that He is the risen and conquering King. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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