WEDNESDAY
Today we come to the central theme of our topic for this week, and really for the whole campaign—Christ Exalted. For the rest of this week, we are going to look at the glorified description of Jesus in chapter 1. If you get nothing else from the book of Revelation, don’t miss this! The central theme of Revelation is this glorified picture of Jesus in his resurrected state. Remember, this is the revelation from Jesus about Jesus. John begins in his opening with a description:
Revelation 1:4-8 4 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, 5 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 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 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. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Here in the greeting, Jesus is described as:
- The faithful witness - Jesus was faithful to God’s calling and will, witnessing to his identity as the Messiah even to death. John says this to encourage the believers who are facing persecution, and even possibly death, that Jesus faced the same and remained faithful.
- The firstborn of the dead - Jesus was martyred, but he was then raised. He is the hope of resurrection life. He has power over death. He promises to give his resurrection life to those who believe in him. He is the first of many to experience resurrection from the dead. John writes this to encourage those who are facing death for believing in Jesus, reminding them that he is their hope for eternal life.
- The ruler of the kings on earth - Jesus now reigns at God’s right hand. He is king over Caesar. So, to those who would consider abandoning Jesus and declaring Caesar to be lord, obedience to Jesus takes precedence over obedience to Caesar.
Then in verses 5b-7, John launches into a doxology to Christ. First, Jesus loves us! No one can honestly say that about Caesar. But Jesus, this King of kings, has proven his love for us by shedding his blood on the cross to free us from our sins. So we cannot question his love.
Not only has he died to free us, but he has also blessed us in extraordinary ways. He has made us a kingdom (Luke 22:29-30)! The people of these churches were brought into the empire of Rome because Caesar conquered them by force, dominating them with military might. Jesus died for them and gave them a kingdom. We have been made stewards of this kingdom, which is here now in part, and we will reign with him forever when he returns and brings it in its fullness.
He also made us priests to God. We have access to God through Jesus. We have a mission to mediate the gospel to the world and therefore reveal God’s blessing or judgment. Note John says that we are priests to “his God and Father.” This is likely to emphasize Jesus’ humanity. He is still in his resurrected state, both God and man. Some aspects of Revelation will reveal his humanity and some will reveal his divinity.
Then John says that he is “coming with the clouds.” This is a reference to his return, his second advent, which he also notes in Matthew 24:30. This is a reference to vision that Daniel has in Daniel 7:13.
Daniel 7:13–14 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Isaiah 19:1 and Psalm 104:3 reference that the clouds are God’s chariot and he rides upon them. So this is a statement of his divinity, following just on the heels of a statement of his humanity. So Jesus has received his kingdom from the Father in his ascension, and he will return to earth with it to establish it forever.
Every eye seeing him and those who pierced him is a reference to Zechariah 12:10. Jesus’ return will be seen by all. As Jesus, himself, says in Matthew 24:27, his return will be more like lightening lighting up the sky. Those who pierced him, here in Revelation, is likely extended to those whose sins led him to the cross, i.e., all of us. The mourning, or wailing, will be both from those who have repented of their sin and mourn over their sin, as well as those who will wail at the judgment coming upon them. Those who had failed to make Jesus their Lord will now realize that He, indeed, is Lord of all creation.
Then we receive a word from the Lord God, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and Omega are the beginning and ending letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. He was. He is. And He is to come. He is the eternally existent one. The one in whom is all life, power and authority. God is sovereign over all creation. The visions following in this book will reveal God’s sovereignty.
Reflection
Read over verses 5-7 three times and let them sink in to your heart and soul.