The Son of Man - Part 2 Revelation 1:17-20
INTRODUCTION:
As we come to our third message of Revelation I wanted to begin this morning by sharing with you the five different approaches to interpreting Revelation that are adopted by different people and then the approach that I will take that I believe is what we will find in our Scripture passage this morning.
The first interpretive approach is the nonliteral or allegorical approach which believes that the book of Revelation is one great allegory going far beyond the natural symbolism which is found in the book.
Second, is the preterist approach which interprets Revelation as a description of first-century events in the Roman Empire. They deny any prophetic claims made about the book even though in the first chapter it is called a prophecy.
Third, the historicist approach which views Revelation as a panoramic view of church history from apostolic times to the present. This view has many problems and many different and conflicting interpretations.
Fourth, is the idealist approach which views Revelation as a timeless depiction of the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. This view has neither historical allusions or predictive prophecy. This view sees Revelation as a series of stories designed to teach spiritual truth.
Finally, the futurist approach insists that the events beginning in chapter 4 and going onto chapter 22 are yet future, these chapters literally and symbolically depict actual people and events that will one day appear on the world scene. This approach describes the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Millennium and the final judgment and the eternal state. Only this view does justice to Revelation’s claim to be prophecy and interprets the book by the same grammatical-historical method as chapters 1-3 and the rest of Scripture.
This futurist approach is the one that I take and that most conservative theologians and preachers take and most of them like myself are premillennial which means I believe the Millennium (1000 year) reign of Christ will happen on the earth before the heavens and earth are destroyed and a new heaven and a new earth are created. I believe this is the interpretive approach that is laid out for us in this first chapter of Revelation.
Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles again to Revelation chapter 1. This morning we will only be looking at verses 17-20, but for the sake of context let’s read verses 9-20. Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Revelation 1:9-20,
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because 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 the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a book what you see, 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 with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.’” (Revelation 1:9–20, NASB95)[1]
SUMMARY (Revelation 1:9-16)
Last Sunday we looked at verses 9-16 and John described for us his vision of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ and in that description, we learned that Jesus is coming as our great high priest and judge. We also learned that John saw this vision of Jesus Christ when he was in the Spirit and that he saw Jesus stand in the middle of seven golden lampstands and He was holding in His right hand seven stars. This morning we are going to learn more about the lampstands and the stars and what they represent.
I cannot imagine the thoughts that ran through John’s mind as he took in all that he saw, I am sure that it quickly overwhelmed him, I know it would have overwhelmed me.
JOHN’S RESPONSE (Revelation 1:17a)
I think John did what anyone of us would do if we saw the risen and glorified Son of God, John says that he fell at His feet like a dead man. The majesty and the glory of this vision was so great that John did the only thing that could be done, he recognized that this was the great and powerful God of the universe and he bowed before him in worship.
This is in great contrast to the times of intimate fellowship that John and Jesus had during Christ’s earthly life. In the Gospels, we read of John laying his head on Jesus’ chest and of the close relationship he had with the Savior. Now John is in the presence of the glorified Son of God whose power and majesty are no longer veiled and whose righteousness is revealed in the symbols that John described for us, his absolute purity and complete holiness, His eyes like blazing fire searching the hearts of men, women, and children. His feet of burnished bronze spoke of divine judgment and the two-edged sword coming from His mouth spoke of swift and complete judgment. John did the only thing anyone can do when faced with the glory of God. God’s glory had this same effect on many in the Old Testament, examples are Abraham, Manoah the father of Samson, Ezekiel, Daniel. In the New Testament on the Mount of transfiguration the disciples bowed and worshipped when they saw Jesus transfigured before them. John bowed before the glorified Lord Jesus Christ in reverent fear and he did not move from that position, but became like a dead man.
JESUS SPEAKS (Revelation 1:17b-18)
Jesus reached out and He laid His hand on this beloved disciple that was bowing before Him and Jesus spoke words of comfort to John, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,” (Revelation 1:17b, NASB95)[2] Jesus assures John that he has nothing to fear and then Jesus applies an Old Testament name for God to himself by saying I am the first and the last, idols and people will come and go, but I was there in the beginning and I will be there at the last. By this phrase Jesus is declaring that He is God. The very sovereignty of God revealed in the verses we have already looked at over the past two weeks, though they are the terror of the wicked, they are the comfort of the saints. John has nothing to fear, he was redeemed, saved from the wrath to come when he put his faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the One who now stands glorified before him.
Jesus goes on and declares that not only is He the first and the last, which is a declaration that He is eternal, but He is also the living One, which in Greek is in the present tense which means to live continually, who in time died, and in resurrection is alive forever more, and because He conquered death, He holds the keys to death and Hades. The expression “was dead” is literally “became dead,” the state of death in contrast to His being alive from eternity past and living on into eternity future. This phrase that He has the keys of death and Hades implies that He is sovereign over physical death which is the end of physical life in this world, but He is also sovereign over Hades, that is the life after death, this term Hades refers to the intermediate state and must be distinguished from the lake of fire, which refers to the eternal state. If your Bible says that He holds the keys of death and hell, I would write a note that it is not hell the eternal state, but Hades the intermediate state.
In His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ seized from Satan any authority the devil may have had over death. The author of Hebrews says it this way in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Hebrews 2:14–15, NASB95)[3] As Jesus Christ possesses the key or authority over death, no one can die apart from His sovereign permission, not even one afflicted by Satan and in trial and trouble. Jesus Christ decides when each person takes their last breath. As the One who possesses the key or has the authority over Hades, Jesus Christ is also sovereign over the life to come, whether that be to eternal life or eternal damnation in the lake of fire.
THE OUTLINE OF THE BOOK (Revelation 1:19)
Jesus then give John the outline for the book that he has been commissioned to write, and no further outline needs to be given, why would we seek something else when Jesus Christ has already given us the outline. Jesus says, ““Therefore write the things which you have seen,” this is the first point in the outline and it refers to the things that John has already seen as he has recorded them for us in chapter one, this preliminary vision introduces for us the main subject of the entire book, Jesus Christ, the glorious coming King. Jesus then says, “and the things which are,” this is the second point or division in the book and would include chapters 2 and 3 and the seven messages that Jesus Christ delivered to the churches. This contemporary situation gives the historical context for the revelation that follows. Jesus continues by saying, “and the things which will take place after these things.” (Revelation 1:19, NASB95)[4] This is the third and final point or division and it includes chapters 4-22 which is the bulk of the book and was to be prophetic as anticipated when it was called a prophecy back in verse 3 of chapter one. This outline can only fit within the futurist’s approach to interpretation because they see the prophetic teaching of chapters 4-22. We have almost covered the first division, we have one more verse which we will look at shortly. After I am back from conference and vacation at the beginning of July we will begin the second division of chapters 2-3.
THE MYSTERY OF THE STARS AND LAMPS (Revelation 1:20)
In the final verse of this chapter Jesus reveals to John the mystery of the seven stars that were in Jesus right hand and the seven golden lampstands. Now remember that a mystery in the Bible is not something that is to be kept hidden, but something that has not yet been revealed and Jesus is going to reveal for us the symbolism of the stars and the lampstands. Jesus says that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. The Greek word that is translated “angels” is the word that is used for angel throughout the New Testament, but the literal translation of the word is “messenger.” This is the better translation for it here because angels are never seen in the Bible as leaders in the church. Most likely, these messengers are the seven key elders representing each of the seven churches. The fact that John saw Jesus Christ holding the seven stars in His right hand shows that He is the authority in the church and He controls the church and its leaders, and leaders that stray from the truth of God’s Word had better beware. Jesus goes on to explain to John the seven lampstands are the seven churches. These lampstands are not the light, but they are to show the light of Jesus Christ to the world, this is a fitting symbol for the church. Again, because there were seven lampstands and seven is the number of completeness throughout Scripture, these seven lampstands are representative of all the churches throughout the church age.
John Walvoord writes, “It is significant as indicated in this verse that the revelation embodied in this book, though often in symbols, is designed to reveal truth, not to hide it. Though all the symbols are not explained, in the great majority of cases the symbols are interpreted in one way or another in the Word of God.”[5]
CONCLUSION:
This first chapter of the book of Revelation truly emphasizes the theme of this entire book, the glory of Jesus Christ and the entire book moves progressively to the climax which is the second coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory to this earth. This is found in chapter 19. We will see the spiritual significance of the person of Christ and His coming to judge the world as it is applied in chapters 2 and 3 to the spiritual problems in the church of that time, but also as applied to the spiritual problems of the churches at all times in the history of the church from the first century when this was written up to the present time. These next two chapters will form the second division of the book of Revelation.
As you consider John’s response to seeing Jesus Christ risen, ascended and glorified and coming as the great high priest and judge of the church, what is your response? I cannot but help to be influenced to live and seek a life of purity and holiness as I wait for the Lord’s return for the church. I do not want to have to shrink back or hang my head in shame when He returns, I want Him to find me seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. I am also influenced to be concerned for the lost, I would not want to face Christ in all His glory and power having not believed in His death for my sins, His burial, and resurrection. I am influenced by John’s vision of Jesus Christ to be sharing the Good News with the unsaved. In what ways are you influenced by your study of Bible prophecy?
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Chicago, Ill. : Moody Press, 1966