When The Lamb StandsThe Revelation, (continuation)"Vision of the Glorified Christ" by Sharon Clemens

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    The vision of the glorified Christ in Revelation chapter one is a timely study for the Easter season. When Christ rose from the dead, John and the other disciples spent forty days with our resurrected Lord. However, at that time, John saw only a glimpse of our Lord's glory before His ascension to the Father [Acts 1]. In chapter one of The Revelation, the Vision of the Glorified Christ, John has the privilege of seeing His Lord in the fullness of His glory--and he is overwhelmed. John describes His appearance, as best he can in human terms. He uses metaphors and similes and descriptive language to do so because Christ's appearance defies description.

Revelation 1:9-16

    The location of John's vision contrasts Christ's holiness against the backdrop of the barrenness of Patmos, an island penal colony off the coast of Asia Minor. Christ appears to John infused with light against the barrenness of a sinful fallen world.

    John was banished to Patmos off the coast of modern Turkey for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ--a religion that was illegal in the Roman Empire. Christians refused to participate in Emperor worship or the worship of the many pagan idols of Greece and Rome. As Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17:22-34, the true God Christians worship cannot be contained in idols and temples. Therefore, the cosmopolitan world of the day thought Christians were unpatriotic for not worshipping Caesar, and even atheistic for worshipping an unseen God instead of idols. Their assumptions were incorrect, but truth is corrupted by those who are deceived. And so it is today. But the righteous judge, Jesus Christ, will return to restore truth. As Isaiah said, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil..." [Isaiah 5:20]

    John was not expecting to visibly see Christ while he was absorbed in his normal Sunday, Lord's day worship. All believers experience the presence of God through the Holy Spirit, but Christ makes a personal appearance to John, jolting him out of his reverie. Christ's physical presence emphasizes the importance of this letter. What a shock for John to suddenly hear the voice of God directly behind him. Christ's voice could only be described as loud, and somewhat like a trumpet--piercing and bold! This is no meek and mild Jesus; this is the King!

    Christ announces Himself formally. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." His title from verse 8 is repeated; He is the beginning and the end of all things. When He who controls the universe appears personally to specify where this message should be addressed, there must be a very good reason.

    The Lord instructs John to send the letter to seven SPECIFIC churches of John's day. In Colossians 1:16-18, Paul identifies Christ not only as sovereign, but also as the head of the body, the church. As the head of the church, Christ exercises His authority over that body by using them as a divinely appointed destination for His Revelation, and as a means to chart the course of time.

TRANSITION FROM PRESENT--TO FUTURE:

    Christ chooses seven letters to seven churches because seven represents completeness. Taken together, the seven letters are a composite of the entire Church Age, from beginning to end. Each letter represents a stage of the Church Age as well as specific churches of John's day and characteristics that can be found in individual churches at any time--a complete composite. The seven letters span the Church Age. The last letter and last stage, Laodicea, ushers in the Tribulation in chapter 4. The Church Age is Christ's vehicle to TRANSITION from present, to future.

    The church is very important to Christ; it is His body. However, many church denominations are taking upon themselves roles that God did not intend. The Lord of the church tells John to use the church AS A VEHICLE TO DISSEMINATE THIS PROPHECY OF HIS RETURN. And yet, much of the church is abandoning this calling and are ignoring the teaching of Christ's Second Coming. The book's structure demonstrates that after the Church Age is completed, God is not finished. The church has not and will not establish the Kingdom on earth as Kingdom Now and Dominion theologians teach. The Kingdom is future. The Kingdom cannot exist without the presence of the King!

    Also, the church does not appropriate the future role Israel will play in the Tribulation, as Replacement Theology wrongly teaches. Rather, the church is an interval in God's plan for Israel, as Dr. J. V. McGee points out. As Paul teaches in Romans 11:11 to 36, after the church is raptured and resurrected, Israel will again become the focal point of God's history of redemption in order that their redemption and restoration be completed according to His covenant promises to Israel [Zechariah 12:10 to 13:1]. His earthly plan does not end with the church.

    How ironic that much of the church that calls itself evangelical is so absorbed in church growth programs and world peace, they have failed to proclaim Christ's return. Only the Prince of Peace can bring the Millennial peace.

CHRIST IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH:

    In this interval we call the Church Age, Christ is in the midst of the church, in the person of the Holy Spirit. He indwells each individual believer [John 14:16-17]. Church believers are called those "in" Christ because Christ is "in" us [1 Thess. 4:16]. When John turns, He sees "One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band" standing in the midst of seven lampstands [1:12-13]. In 1:20, Christ tells John the meaning of the lampstands. They represent the seven churches that are to receive the prophecy. As the light of the world, Jesus Christ is the light source of the church, infusing it with spiritual light [truth], holiness, and power. He is in the midst of worshipping Christians--watching, enabling and holding us accountable. This should keep us all on our spiritual toes...

    The lampstands are recognizable to John as they are similar to the seven-branched menorah used in Jewish Temple worship. This candlestand was fed by oil to keep the seven lights burning. Christ is the inexhaustible source; oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. There are seven lampstands, each with seven lights, signifying complete spiritual light and power from Christ, the light source.

    If Laodicea is the last stage of the church, we can chart our nearness to the end of the Age by comparing the characteristics of Laodicea with the character of the institutional church today. When we study the churches in chapters 2 and 3, we will look at the course and character of the Church Age in more detail.

THE SON OF MAN:

    It is significant that Christ is referred to as "the Son of Man" in verse 13. Son of Man is the title Christ used most often to refer to Himself; it appears 81 times in the gospels. The term is taken from the vision of Daniel 7:13 and is an implied claim to deity. In Daniel's vision, one like the Son of Man is given authority, glory and sovereign power by the Father, the Ancient of Days. All peoples, nations and men worship the Son of Man, and His dominion is everlasting. It is the fulfillment of this passage that we see in the future portion of The Revelation and the Second Coming.

    It is also significant that Christ be identified as FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN, as Martin Luther stated it. In order to fulfill the Father's requirements for sin atonement, Christ had to suffer on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for man's sin.
As fully God, He was the perfect, sinless sacrifice--the sinless Lamb of God. Only the God/Man is without sin.
As fully man, He was our substitute on the tree. He took sinful man's place on the cross.
    Even Christ's garments are symbolic. He wears a robe similar to that of the High Priest [Hebrews 2:17; Lev. 16:1-4; Ex. 39]. Christ is our High Priest, Hebrews 7. Although His work of sacrifice is "finished," He still intercedes at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, making intercession for us; He is our defense attorney with the Father judge by right of His sacrifice for our sins. [Ref. 1 Timothy 2:5]

    There is, however, a slight difference in His appearance from the robe of the High Priest. The sash is about His chest rather than about the waist. Christ wears the girdle of a JUDGE. During the Tribulation, Christ is given authority to judge the nations in preparation for the Millennial Kingdom [John 5:22; Psalm 110; Psalm 2]. The Tribulation or the time of God's wrath is also called The Day of the Lord. It is a time of judgment and vengeance against a Christ-rejecting world [Isaiah 61:1-2]. And yet, mercy tempers His wrath. It is also a time of salvation for the Tribulation remnant [Isaiah 49:8, 9]. Revelation 7 speaks of the multitudes who will receive Christ during the Tribulation, even in the midst of great suffering and persecution.

    In a sense, our High Priest, Jesus Christ, burns the sinfulness of the earth on the altar of God's wrath in the Tribulation judgments. God's wrath in the End Times is likened to blazing fire.

HOW TO DESCRIBE HOLINESS:

    Verse 14--"His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire..." John uses examples common to his day to describe the Lord's incandescent brightness. He makes use of similes and metaphors [like and as] to describe Christ's head and hair. Washed wool and snow were the whitest elements John could think of. Interpreting the passage literally does not mean that Christ's countenance and hair were actual wool and snow, but the metaphors were John's way of describing something for which he had no human words to really do Him justice. Note that the Ancient of Days is described in the same way in Daniel 7:9 and 22.

    Eyes are often called the windows of the soul. John describes Christ's eyes "like a flame of fire." It must have been frightening to turn and be confronted by a glowing entity with eyes like piercing laser beams. The Lord will look with penetrating perception into the depths of the church in the next two chapters [also 2:18; 19:12]. Hebrews 4:13 -- "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account." His eyes burn away deception!

    Those who are hiding something find it hard to meet the eyes of their accusers. Christ's eyes will look inside of us at the Judgment Seat of Christ to determine whether our works were done for the glory of God, or our own selfish purposes. [1 Cor. 3:10-15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:9; Phil. 1:9; 1 Peter 1:7; Romans 14:10-13;]. This is the Judgment of Rewards for the church after the Rapture. It is NOT a judgment to determine salvation as salvation is NOT by works. Only believers saved by grace, through faith, are raptured; on believers will stand before the Judgment of Rewards. Then, the Lord will pierce our souls with His countenance of truth to determine how we glorified God with our Christian walk--in order to reward us. Some will find much of their effort will burn up like dry tinder; others will find their robe of righteousness--their wedding gown as the Bride of Christ--covered with gold, silver and precious stones. This honors Christ as His Bride is presented to Him.

    Verse 15--"...His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters..." As a blacksmith heats medal to white hot, so Christ's feet are white hot to trample out judgment. Brass or bronze is also symbolic of judgment. The laver of the Tabernacle where the priests washed their hands before performing sacrificial service was made of bronze. His voice--like the sound of MANY waters. Perhaps what John heard was something like the sound of the crashing, cascading water of Niagara Falls, where many waters converge--like liquid power. Mesmerizing!

    Verse 16--He holds in His right hand--the hand of power--seven stars. Just as ancient rulers held in their hands symbols of their empire, so Christ holds seven stars which represent the angels of the seven specific churches [verse 20]. As the head of the church, Christ holds what are thought to be representatives of the church leadership or ministers in His right hand to symbolize both protection and accountability.

    "...out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." Christ is not only High Priest and Judge--He is the executioner of the court. The two-edged sword [Hebrews 4:12] is symbolic of the Word of God and yet completely literal in its power. In His role as judge, Christ will speak the Word like a weapon. The Sword of the Word will only "cleave" the lost because it can discern the true thoughts and intentions of the heart. This sword is not standard issue--only He can wield it for judgment in this way. The sword is NOT INDISCRIMINATE. He can easily protect the righteous while the unrighteous are destroyed. Compare this verse with Revelation 19:11-15. The Sword of the Word will strike down the nations. It is a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of a holy God, Revelation 14:14-20.

We are to understand and respect the power of God's Word     and treat it as a literal weapon in the work of Christ.
The success of Satan in promoting Biblical illiteracy is resulting in THE SPIRITUAL DIS-ARMAMENT of the Church.
Without the Word of truth, the Church is defenseless.

    John likens Christ's face to the sun in all its brilliance. Christ's countenance was similar to what Peter, James and John saw on the Mount of Transfiguration In Matthew 17:2. He is literally the "light of the world," Revelation 21:23, both spiritually and literally, the Sun of Righteousness, Malachi 4:2.

JOHN'S REACTION IS TO BE EXPECTED:
"When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead..."



Next lesson, "Jesus, The Life Force."

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]