Revelation 1:17-20 – To see Christ more clearly

Consider this for a while, John was part of the body of believers undergoing suffering. What they were facing was not just hard and harsh, but also seemingly and agonizingly long. They had to endure the hands of brutal and ruthless rulers, one after another. Everyone imposing their will upon them in one city after another. The Christ whom John was given the privilege to see, is the same Priest and Judge standing in the midst of the seven churches. In His right hand are the angels or leaders, each one is to look after each of His local churches. We know that the seven churches were located in Ephesus, Smyrna Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. The seven churches as a whole stood as a symbol of the universal Church of Jesus Christ, both then and now. This is an assurance that when we are in the church committed to Christ and His truth, we know that the leadership of that assembly is in His right hand.  

   

Now try to stand in the shoes of John and imagine what he had experienced. Just imagine the magnificent Christ John had described. This glorious Christ whom he saw in that vision was the same Jesus now resurrected and glorified. Hence, John’s immediate reaction of fear was natural. He just fell down at His feet like a dead man, too petrified to move. But the wonderful Lord Jesus, with His hand extended, reached out to touch John. And with a calm and soothing voice, He allayed his fear. What He told John implied that the one whom he saw walking in the midst of the churches is none other than He, Jesus, who was dead but is now alive. More wonderful was the announcement that He now has the key to death and hell. And there is nothing any believer needs to worry or fear henceforth. In verse 20, the Glorious Lord unravels the mystery of the seven stars in His right hand and the seven golden lampstands, saying they represent the angels or leaders overseeing the church, and the seven churches He delineated earlier. 

Revelation is a book that would not appeal to our logic but our imagination. In it God is unravelling His program and we are asked to imagine. What would Jesus look like when the curtain between heaven and earth is lifted? The Apostle John wants us to see a Jesus Who is both dramatically powerful, yet tender and considerate, compassionate and caring. This same Jesus who died on the cross and rose again is our key to knowing the Father. In and through Him, we see our Heavenly Father, the Creator God, in the way He wants us to see Him. This same Jesus was the one who spoke and is still speaking words revealing what’s presently taking place, and yet warning of future events and all that will certainly take place.

We have started in our venture to explore the dynamic and explosive visions of John in this book. In order for us to find satisfaction and gain spiritually, like John we must locate our own “Patmos.” Then in solitude, with the discipline of prayer and reflection, bid God to reveal Himself to us like never before!