Who is this man?
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” Rev 1:17-18. NLT
(The NASB translates ‘the grave’ by the word ‘hades’, the old KJV had translated hades by the word ‘hell,’ which shows the words are interchangeable to translators. The KJV translators of 1611 were still under Catholic influence and therefore biased towards the doctrine of hell, modern translators have corrected this bias.)
John had known Jesus pretty well in the flesh (see 1John). But that was sixty years ago. He had ascended to some other part of the universe. John certainly wasn’t expecting Jesus to show up in his back yard at any moment.
Not only that, but this Jesus also had the kind of dazzling qualities John would have associated with God Himself. He is the “first and the last,” terms which describe the great God of the Old Testament (Isa 44:6; 48:12). Jesus comes to John as the God of the Old Testament, the One who made the world, gave the law on Mount Sinai and filled the temple with glory in Solomon’s day. It must have been a staggering shock for John to take in. As a result, he goes down like a dead man would. It was more than he could handle.
Jesus had identified Himself with the titles of God as e.g. “the first and …the last” The Greek word for last is eschatos, from which we get the word eschatology (the study of end-time events). The meaning of this word shows that the focus of eschatology is on Jesus Christ, who is the last word on final events. He is the one “who lives” and possesses “the keys of hades (the grave) and death”Rev1:18 By His death and resurrection, Jesus has been given authority to open the gates of death (Job.17:16, Ps 9:13). All who trust in Him will rise from the grave to everlasting life (1Cor 15:20-28).
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. He is more than a man; He is the God-man. When, like John, we recover from this revelation, we can be comforted to know that He is well able to provide everything we need, including eternal life.
Jesus came to John in a totally unexpected form. He breaks the mold into which he had placed Him. He stretches the boundaries of John’s experience, challenging him to a bigger picture of Jesus. And the reality is that we all struggle to move past our own limitations when it comes to our understanding of God.
A Muslim might struggle with a God who is pleased with someone who doesn’t fast for a month or pray 5 times a day or who eats pork. They look down on Christians who drink but think it is OK to smoke.
A Jehovah’s Witness would probably have a hard time grasping that God could use a blood transfusion to save the life of a child. A Mormon might have a difficult time grasping a God who could do mighty acts through people like Moses and Peter but who didn’t know enough to wear special underwear.
Many Catholics have a hard time believing that a minister can truly please God without being celibate. In Jesus’ day some Jews had a hard time watching the disciples pick a little grain to eat while walking through a field on the Sabbath.
I used to own a book called: “Your God Is Too Small!” The Jesus of Revelation is the antidote to the “Small God Syndrome.” We call Him meek and mild, yet many who knew Him thought otherwise. After all, He insulted upstanding clergy, calling them hypocrites. He referred to the local governor as “that fox.” He called earnest, religious people “sons of the devil.” He kept company with prostitutes and tax swindlers!
He crashed a church yard sale, knocking over the merchandise, mixing up money they had neatly separated into various accounts, and driving the members off the property. He drowned scores of pigs to heal a homeless person. He did not show proper respect to important people. Jesus sure would be nice to have around if He would just do things our way.
And now He comes to John as the Almighty God of the Old Testament. Like John, all we can do is fall at His feet and worship.
Just. Sending my name because I missed #13. Thankyou. .. Debbie.
Sent the missing one – hope you got it OK. There were about 10 who got missed for some reason. Regards Ross
Hi Ross ,
I missed number 13 . Thank you
Sent the missing one – hope you got it OK. There were about 10 who got missed for some reason. Regards Ross