Revelation 1:4-18
English Standard Version
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Alleluia Christ is Risen!
Easter is not just a single day but a whole season. Easter day ushers in celebrating a totally new way of life because of Jesus. And so we keep the celebration going until we remember Jesus Ascension into heaven.
Jesus is alive and is among us so it is fitting that we hear from New Testament Prophecy in this Season of Easter.
But Prophecy sometimes gets a bad rap or is used poorly. Revelation is all about helping us see the world for how it is by taking us back a step.
Rather than thinking about the world in logical arguments or literal stories we meet the Risen Savior in a powerful and poetic description of His full glory.
John begins with a description of how Jesus is arriving:
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. - Rev 1
The donkey of Palm Sunday is long gone and now Jesus rides the clouds themselves. This description instantly hooks us into the poetry of the rest of scripture that describes God and His majesty for example Psalm 104:
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; - Psalm 104:1-3
There is no mistaking who Jesus is or how powerfully He rides in. Yet for those nations or “tribes” who do not trust in Jesus this coming on the clouds is a fearsome thing even something so bad that they will wail in grief.
This kind of poetry gives us a vivid interaction with what is clear throughout the rest of Scripture. In Galations Paul says:
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. - Galatians 6:7
The riding in of Jesus on the clouds helps us understand just how true that really is. It is meant to help us experience that sense of awe we feel in the presence of something spectacular. I am sure many of you know what that experience is like.
Story of scuba diving and descending deeper and deeper. Everything feels suspended in time and space. And then finally coming close to the seafloor and a sand dollar field comes into view. As far as you can see in any direction. Leaves you with the tinkly sense of awe at the beauty and otherness of what you encounter.
That is what these prophecies are trying to help us experience. Because just in case we need some more help understanding the majesty and wonder of the resurrected Jesus He speaks Himself: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” - Rev 1
These words resound with the sensation of Awe. It is the reason the alpha and omega symbol has been used throughout Chrstian history as a vivid reminder of the glory of Jesus.
But John isn’t done bringing us into the incredible presence of the risen and glorified Jesus because he continues:
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. - Rev 1
That is a lot to take in and worth repeating (reread).
Each and every word and phrase in the description of Jesus is packed full of meaning and invitation to let the power and Glory of Jesus soak into us. We could spend the rest of the day tracking down each image and description across the rest of Scripture but I want to take one that helps us understand where we fit into this image of the Glorified Jesus.
I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man - Rev 1
These lampstands represent God’s church with Christ in the midst of her.
But it is more than just Jesus standing in the midst of some people or a few buildings, lampstands have played an important role for the whole preparation for Jesus up to this amazing picture of Him.
First lampstand described in Exodus with the building of the tabernacle. And it had a very specific design. Had seven branches like a tree. Each candle head was shaped like an almond blossom.
So in a very real sense this lampstand was made to be a light giving tree in the midst of the tabernacle. Yet just like the tree of life in the Garden of Eden the lampstand shined the light of God in a very protected and hidden way. Only priests could enter the tabernacle and later the temple to see the light of God.
Yet even though few people physically saw the lampstand lit it represented God’s presence and illumination of His people.
Later in Zechariah 4 we see a vision of a lampstand used to encourage the exiled Israelites that the word of God and His Spirit would be the power by which Zerubabel would come back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.
But Jesus moves the location of the Light of God and God’s temple. When He dies on the cross the temple curtains are torn and the boundary between God’s unapproachable Holy light and the world is broken down. And He places it within His people.
We have often hear these words:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. - Matt 5:14-16
But we don’t often talk about this being Jesus moving the holy temple lampstand and placing it within each one of us. The light giving tree does not stand in a physical temple anymore but within each and every faithful heart.
So we can return to the description of Jesus and his Church with new eyes:
I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man - Rev 1
Not one lampstand with seven branches but seven whole individual lampstands shining the light of Christ not from behind a curtain or safely kept within a temple but out in the open with the Glorified Christ in their midst.
What a beautiful picture of the Church and our place with Jesus.
But that is not even the end of this image there is one more layer I would like to leave you with.
The lampstands in the tabernacle were not just made to look like any tree but a very particular one. An almond tree.
Almonds blossom while it is still winter and are the first blossoms to emerge. They bloom even before any leaves grow on the branches.
And that can teach us something about us as the bearers of Jesus’ light to this world. His light in us as we share it with the world is meant to be like an almond blossom.
While the world is still dark and cold. While everything else around us can feel like it is falling apart or being destroyed. Because after all the rest of revelation addressed that feeling and the reality of evil and darkness in the world head on. But the picture of His church is to bloom in the middle of it all the shine the light of Jesus no matter what.
Because our light does not stand by itself. The radiant shining of Jesus that outshines the sun is standing in our midst.
And we would be right to fall down like John when we realized the incredible awe and power of the Jesus we come to: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead - Rev 1
But Jesus reaches down and puts His radiant, spectacular, fearsome hand on us and says: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. - Rev 1
Fear not! Jesus is coming riding the clouds like a chariot and standing in power in the midst of us. Amen.