I love the fact that the designers of this series chose Revelation to help us see The Church. John wrote these words to be a blessing to those who hear them. As we read them together, my prayer is that you will be blessed.
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. "Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:4-8 NIV)
Notice how the picture of Jesus shifts so quickly in this paragraph. His description starts out as "faithful witness," "firstborn from the dead" (first one permanently risen from the dead), and "ruler of the kings of the earth." Each of these titles can be worn by a human being. Granted, it must be a very special human being, even specially blessed by God, but it is a human being nonetheless. The later titles of Jesus, though, are ones reserved only for God. "Alpha and Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is being called the first and the last "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." This is not a description of some specially blessed human being. This is a description of God.
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." 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. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:9-16 NIV)
What would you do if you saw Jesus like this? How would eyes like blazing fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, and a voice sounding like rushing waters do to you? How about the sharp, double-edged, sword coming out of his mouth? Would a face, shining like the son, change the way you look at him?
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. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 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. (Revelation 1:17-20 NIV)
The way we see Jesus will affect the way we live out our role as His ambassadors, His Kingdom of priests, and as His Body, The Church. How do you see Jesus?
No comments:
Post a Comment