In the nineteenth chapter of John’s gospel we read, “Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him; and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face. Pilate came out again and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him” (John 19:1-4). The Roman governor then handed Jesus over to be crucified. John’s gospel continues, “They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews” (John 19:17-19). Finally, this passage tells us that Jesus, hanging on the cross, said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).
Sadly, for the people of those days, this is the last image the public had of the Lord Jesus: hanging silently, still nailed to the cross, and dead. His face marred and disfigured to the point He was unrecognizable with blood streaming from His hands and feet; from His head (from the wounds caused by the crown of thorns–which was still present), and from the wounds on His back from the scourging ordered by Pilate. Most of the people who witnessed the Lord’s crucifixion never saw anything more from Jesus.
Even more regrettably, this is the image millions of people have of Jesus in our day. They have seen images of Jesus hanging in death on the cross and that is all they know about Him. That moment, seemingly frozen in time, is what multitudes understand about our Lord. As far as they are concerned, Jesus was a defeated man who succumbed to a public execution and who died. He is, of consequence, of little importance in today’s world, apart perhaps as a solitary historic figure. But this is by no means the end of Jesus or His ministry.
As we follow John’s account of the events of that day we read, “After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there” (John 19:38-42).
Even this does not end these real and historical events. Early on Sunday morning, on the third day, Jesus’ disciples discovered the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty and He was no longer in the grave. By the end of the day, over a dozen people had seen the resurrected Jesus, who was very much alive. Over the next few weeks, well over five hundred people personally witnessed the risen Savior alive. He talked to them and encouraged them. He gave them His Great Commission, to take the Good News of salvation to the remotest parts of the earth. And He promised He would always be with them. Finally, many stood with Him on the Mount of Olives, just outside of Jerusalem, and watched as He ascended into heaven.
Jesus is no longer hanging in death on the cross, but is alive and He continues to shepherd His church. The same Apostle John who wrote of Christ’s death in his gospel was given an amazing vision and revelation of the Lord Jesus as He appears today. John saw Him in His great power and beauty and gave us the real picture of the Lord. This revelation, given by the Lord, also opens our eyes to what Jesus is doing right now. We will begin with the background of John’s revelation of Jesus, then we will note the unfolding of this revelation, and concluded with the results of this amazing vision.
THE BACKGROUND OF THE REVELATION. Revelation 1:9-11
The Exiled Apostle. The book of Revelation was written by the same Apostle John who wrote the Gospel of John. The title of this book is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Its primary purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ to His church of redeemed souls. It is a book of prediction because John called it “the words of the prophecy.” The content of the book shows the sovereign power of Jesus Christ by revealing beforehand how earth’s final chapters will unfold. John wrote the book of Revelation between 90 and 95 A.D. By this time all the rest of the New Testament had been completed and collected. The temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed two decades earlier and many Jewish people who had survived that tragedy had departed from Palestine to other parts of the Roman Empire. John had traveled to Ephesus to serve as a pastor in the church in that city. All of the other original twelve apostles had completed their ministries and were now in the Lord’s presence. Only John remained.
Domitian was the Roman emperor and he instigated an official persecution of Christians–a persecution that spanned the empire. During this persecution, John had been arrested for preaching God’s Word and testifying about the lordship of Jesus Christ and was punished by being exiled to a tiny island known as Patmos. This island is barren and volcanic and located in the Aegean Sea, about ten miles long and six miles wide. It is about forty miles offshore from today’s country of Turkey. Exile to this island was a common form of punishment for criminals and political prisoners. It was a brutal existence for the apostle who was now in his late eighties or early nineties. As a prisoner, he had insufficient food, clothing, and shelter and had to sleep on the bare ground. Yet it was in this hostile environment that God gave John the most extensive revelation of the future ever given.
In the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. John tells us that this revelation came to him as a sovereign act of God’s miraculous grace. He neither expected nor anticipated such an amazing event. He tells us that he was in the Spirit, which tells me that God did something unique and supernatural with John. In order to leave His truth about future events to His church, the Lord Jesus somehow took John to heaven while his body remained on Patmos. How this unrepeatable event happened must remain as part of God’s divine purview. John also tells us that this event happened on the Lord’s Day, which, of course, means Sunday. While as a Jewish man, John had worshiped on the Sabbath, or Saturday; but now that he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, he worshiped and celebrated the Lord on Sunday in recognition of His resurrection. John does not identify what time of day this happened but the revelation God gave him is extraordinary.
The Lord’s Command. John heard a voice that sounded like a trumpet that gave a piercing command. This was John’s part and the reason God used him for this purpose. Being an apostle and having written a gospel and three New Testament letters, God used John’s apostolic authority for the purpose of writing down in a book everything he saw. That book is this current book we are reading, the book of Revelation. In addition, the book that John would write under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration was a message to Christians and was designed to be read by them over the ensuing centuries. We find that the Lord commanded John to write to churches in nearby Asia Minor. While there were many churches there, seven were specified, but clearly, the Lord wrote this prophecy for all Christians to read.
THE UNFOLDING OF THE REVELATION. Revelation 1:12-16
Jesus Strengthens His Church. John turned to see the voice that was speaking with him. The first thing he saw was seven golden lampstands. While in both the tabernacle and the temple, there was a seven-branched menorah that gave light to the Holy Place, John saw seven individual lampstands. At night, oil lamps would be placed on these stands to give light. Gold is a precious metal showing the value of the church, so valuable to the Lord that he was willing to purchase it with His own blood. They were seven in number, a number that shows completeness in the Bible.
Jesus is seen in the middle of these lampstands, strengthening them for their continuing ministry. In His Great Commission, Jesus promised to always be with them, so He is seen here fulfilling His promise. He is identified as the Son of Man, our Lord’s favorite title for Himself. This comes to us from the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel. Just as John, Daniel was given a unique and heavenly vision of the future. First, he saw the Ancient of Days, whose “clothing was like white snow and His hair like pure wool.” We know the Ancient of Days is God the Father because in verses thirteen and fourteen we read, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14). Christians do not worship a dead heroic religious leader, but the living Christ who indwells His church to strengthen it. Each believer in Christ personally and every church collectively has the privilege of drawing upon the Savior’s strength that is inexhaustible and ever present.
Jesus Intercedes for His Church. John described the exalted Savior as wearing a robe that reached to His feet and a golden sash. In the Old Testament, we find that kings and prophets sometimes wore long robes of this kind. But it is best to see this as being like the robe of the high priest. In this case, the robe here pictures Christ in His role as the great High Priest of His people. Since He was also “girded across His chest with a golden sash,” this further identifies Jesus as the High Priest because this is exactly how God commanded Israel’s high priest to be dressed.
As our High Priest, Jesus consistently intercedes for Christians. The book of Hebrews tells us, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Because Jesus is our High Priest, we can draw near to God at any time. Jesus is “able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Jesus Refines His Church. John described Jesus’ head and hair as being white like wool or snow. John had actually seen Jesus like this before. In Matthew’s gospel, Peter, James, and John were taken up to the Mount of Transfiguration, where we find Jesus “was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2). Here, in Revelation, John saw Jesus in His glorified state again. It is our Lord’s desire that the people of His church be holy and pure. The Apostle Paul told us of this in the book of Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
That His hair was white as wool and snow is an obvious reference to the Ancient of Days in Daniel’s prophecy. The parallel descriptions clearly affirm the deity of Jesus Christ. He possesses all the attributes of God the Father, including holiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Jesus is eternal, glorious, and truthful. His eyes were like a flame of fire, showing that He is the omniscient, all-knowing Lord of the church who recognizes and deals with sin in His church. His feet of glowing bronze shows that like a refiner’s fire, He constantly acts to purify His people.
Jesus Speaks with Authority to His Church. Living on the island of Patmos, John routinely heard the sound of waves crashing on the shore. Here, the Lord’s voice reminds him of that thunderous roar. It is voice of authority and power. One day that voice will command the dead to come forth from their graves. It is the voice of authority that speaks to us through the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures.
Jesus Is in Sovereign Control of His Church. Verse sixteen tells us that Jesus holds seven stars in His right hand. Verse twenty informs us that these stars are angels or messengers. While it is possible that He is speaking to angels, the New Testament nowhere teaches that angels are involved in the leadership of the church. It is best to see these as the messengers of these local churches, probably a pastor or an elder. These seven men were given the function of spiritual leaders in their local church. They are the instruments through which Christ, the Head of the church, mediates His rule. Jesus exercises His control through the leaders He calls.
Jesus Protects His Church. The Lord Jesus shows His protection of the Christians who make up His church with a sharp, two-edged sword. This sword is aimed at external threats and it speaks of judgment against enemies who attack the church, those who sow lies, create discord, or otherwise harm His people. John heard Jesus say, “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:4). Jesus is our Advocate, who never ceases defending His own.
The Glory of Jesus Is Reflected in His Church. The glory of the divine Son radiates from His very being. “His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” The Lord Jesus has the glory of the everlasting God because He is the everlasting God. His glory is the visible aspect of His divine attributes and perfections. At the conclusion of this wonderful book, we find the glory of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God will illuminate everything. “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).
THE RESULTS OF THE REVELATION. Revelation 1:17-19
The Fear of the Lord. John told us that he fell at Jesus’ feet and became like a dead man. This is a common response to seeing the Lord as He really is. We find other examples in Daniel 10, Ezekiel 1, Judges 13, Job 42, and Acts 26. Seeing God in His perfections always overwhelms those who see Him. Realizing God’s presence tears away our self-righteous façade and brings humility. Peter, when he recognized the deity of Christ said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). This reverent honor and respect are necessary for true worship and spiritual growth. Proverbs tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).
The Truth About Jesus: The Everlasting God. John’s vision of the glorified Savior concludes with a multiple declaration of the eternal nature of Jesus Christ. He is the first and last, the One who is alive forevermore, and the One who holds the keys of future judgment. In being the first and the last Jesus declared, in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God beside Me” (Isaiah 44:6). Once more, John was commanded to write down everything he saw. And what he saw is preserved for us in the book of Revelation.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. He is the One who died on the cross to secure the eternal salvation for everyone who believes and who is now alive forevermore. And He is the One who offers salvation to anyone who will trust in Him. Have you ever asked the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul? Remember, to as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.
