Christ Alive Forevermore (Revelation 1:17-20)

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 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 which you saw are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:17-20 NKJV)

Who can live when seeing the holy God? John was not an exception. When he saw the brilliant and awesome image of Christ Jesus, he felt at His feet as dead. Prophet Isaiah did, Jeremiah did, Apostle Paul did as well. When the fallen race was exposed to the holiness of God, the immediate reaction was the fall of death. Then, the mercy of God comes with the gentle touch of His hand to make the dead alive. Without the mercy of God no one can live. We can’t stand before the holy God without experiencing death. For that reason, Christ died in our place for us to be able to stand before the throne of grace with confidence and boldness.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2 NKJV)

Adam immediately died in spirit and hid himself from the face of God. He couldn’t stand any longer before the holy God. He could stand again only after God killed the animals to make the clothes for them. The killing of the animals and shedding the blood symbolize the death of the Son Christ Jesus. King David immediately experienced death until Prophet Nathan pointed out his double sins and repented honestly before God.

“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17 NKJV)

The prodigal son immediately experienced all forms of death when he left his father and wasted his life, squandering the money. Shame, guilt, despair, emptiness, loneliness overshadowed and overwhelmed his body, soul, and spirit. He was lost and dead. But there was a hope in the father’s house and he repented and came back to the father who restored everything as son. That’s the gospel. There is no one left without hope in the gospel of God of Christ Jesus the Lord.

Apostle John was told to speak up the mysteries of the seven stars and the seven lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which John saw are the seven churches. The prophecy of Christ reveals the truths and realities of the churches throughout twenty centuries in history. The word of prophecy was given for the readers to understand and be blessed in these latter days. 

 

The Son of Man in the Midst of the Seven Churches (Revelation 1:12-16)

“Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” (Revelation 1:12-16 NKJV)

Who is Christ Jesus? He is above all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:6). Nothing was made that was made without Him. Christ is upholding all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). In the vision John saw, Christ was in the midst of the seven golden lampstands which represent the seven churches. It indicates that the Lord of the churches is Christ Jesus. Christ is the head of church. This is a very significant truth that the head of church is none other than Christ Jesus. The mystery of church has been hidden for ages and generations and now disclosed by the coming of Christ on the earth.

Christ came and died, buried and rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven. The Risen Lord as promised met the disciples in Galilee and prophesied on John that he would remain till Christ came (John 21:23). That word of Jesus was fulfilled here when John saw the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands while he was in exile and tribulation at the island of Patmos. The Son of Man was so brilliant, marvelous, and awesome in character and image.

Christ the Lord in glory clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. The garment down to the feet and the gold band indicate the priesthood and deity of Christ. His white hair like wool indicates wisdom and purity and His eyes like a flame of fire, omniscience that nothing can be hid. His feet like fine brass, as if in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength, indicating that He bears the intensity of truth.  

The image of Christ in glory is sharply contrasted with that of Christ in the likeness of man. He was the Son of God and yet He was tortured and crucified like a criminal on the cross. There was no beauty that we should desire in Him (Isaiah 53:2). Christ crucified is the picture of the fallen humanity, the first Adam. Christ Risen is the picture of the restored humanity before the creation of the world. Just as He was transfigured in a mountain before the eyes of three disciples, Peter, James, and John, Christ Risen was ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of God forever.

Christ the Son of God we now believe is in such a glory and splendor and majesty. As John saw the Christ of God in glory, so He is among us, ruling and reigning the kingdom of God until all things are made subject to Him (1 Corinthians 15:28). He is the head of all churches on the earth. He is Lord of all things. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Therefore, honor and glory Him in whatever circumstances and surroundings. Amen.

Christ Spoke (Revelation 1:9-11)

“I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:9-11 NKJV)

Who is Christ? He is the Son of God and the Christ of God, the Son of Man. He was the Word in the beginning, says John. He was with God and He is God and nothing was made without Him (John 1:1-3). He suffered and died on the cross according to the Prophets, buried and raised from the dead according the scriptures. He paid the price for the sin and death of humanity through the bloody death. He fulfilled the promises of God, the salvation of man. He came from God to give His body as the ransom sacrifice and went back to the Father to become the Judge and the Lord of all. He ascended into heaven in the eyes of the disciples. The Son of God will come again in cloud and glory with a loud trumpet call of the angels.

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31 NKJV)

The ascended Christ has incarnated again on the Day of Pentecost by means of the Spirit into the assembly of one hundred twenty people in the Jerusalem Temple. That’s the birthday of the church of Christ. Christ the Lord in glory summoned John to reveal the things will shortly take place. John was on the island condemned and exiled. He was in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Christ Jesus. Why are the sufferings of the saints the patience of Christ? It is because God extended the judgment time for the elect to endure till the day of the Lord out of the boundless mercies of God.

Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. He holds the key to the consummation of the heaven and earth. He is the Sustainer and Holder of every elements of power in the universe. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:15-18 NKJV)

Christ spoke in a loud voice as of a trumpet to the seven churches in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. The seven churches are the representatives throughout the twenty one centuries. The prophecy of Christ was spoken through John for the benefit of hearers now and forever.

 

Everything Coming from God, Nothing from Me (2 Corinthians 3:4-6)

“And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NKJV)

Where does our confidence come from under the new covenant of grace? We have received the grace of stewardship to minister the words of truth to the needy and the poor. We have such trust through Christ toward God. But our confidence does not come from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God. We are called and made sufficient as ministers of the new covenant. The old covenant is based on the Ten Commandments but the new, on the Spirit. We must die because we cannot keep the Law. No one can keep the Law by any means. Man is doomed to die of insufficiency of fulfilling the Law. No one is without exception under the old covenant. Man does try hard but no fulfillment at all.

Our sufficiency does not lie on how much we can do but on how much Christ can. We have nothing to contribute to receive the righteousness of God. We cannot love anyone with our fleshy determination and decision. God is love. Only Christ can love the enemies, even He demonstrated His unfailing and faithful love on the cross of Calvary while we were still sinners, enemies of God. Our sufficiency is from the grace of God and Christ crucified who came into our hearts by means the Spirit.

We can’t love anyone, even families, but Christ can, so we can. The indwelling Spirit of God is the source and dynamics of loving one another. That’s it, nothing coming from us, everything coming from the God of Christ Jesus. So, we completely and perfectly rely on Christ who is the gift of God within us. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NKJV) We are freed from the law of condemnation and guilt because we are under grace. We are not delivered by keeping the law but by purely the grace of the blood on the cross. Nothing can separate us from such a love of God manifested and made in public in the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Continual Procession in Triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14)

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV)

How can we be the light in the world and the salt of the earth? Stand where you are just like the street light stands still under which the passers-by find a way safely without bumping the obstacles. The light doesn’t move here and there but stands fast, shining light. Salt is a preservative, preventing from being rotten. If it is put in the food, it stays fast there. That’s the way we can be the light in the world and the salt of the earth.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16 NKJV)

Stands still and fast where God has put us. It may be in the proximity of family, of school, of work, of a place far away from home, of in driving to work, wherever. It may be in the sufferings and tribulations, demanding situations, crucial circumstances, sorrows and tragedies, whatever. It may be teaching, administration, service, help, counseling, whatever gift. There is no rivalry, nor competition among Christians. In His manifold wisdom, we are called to be holy and blameless in His sight even before the creation of the world and to be the praise of His glory in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:3).

God has redeemed and sanctified each Christian in the very place where He wanted to put for His glory and cause. Wherever we are and whatever we do, if we are genuine Christians, we are sanctified and put in there by God and for his glory and cause. How can we be sure of that? He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. The Christians are called to live a continual procession of triumphs and victories no matter what, says Apostle Paul. That’s the good news. Christians are the fragrance of Christ in the place where God has put for His eternal purpose and glory.

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17 NKJV)

 

The Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:4-8)

"John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:4-8 NKJV)

The revelation is given to the seven churches. There were more than the seven churches in Asia, but they are the representative churches throughout the ages. The words of God are the revelations of the mystery of God. The revelations are the prophecy of Christ which must take place. 

Christ is the One who came and died and now is and will come as King and Judge with tens of thousands of angels and the great trumpet call. Christ ministers out of the seven Spirits throughout the ages and times. It doesn't mean there are seven Spirits but the seven ministries of the Spirit. "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1, 2 NKJV)

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Christ is the owner and possessor of the resurrection from the dead. Christ is the Giver of eternal life to those who believe in Him. He is so merciful and gracious that whoever comes to Him through the faith in the blood of the cross receives the resurrection life as many as he comes unto Him. The well of eternal life is never gone dry but overflows out of rivers of living water.

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39 NKJV)

This marvelous grace of our Lord Jesus is always and abundantly available to those who have been loved and purified from all sins in His own blood. We have been liberated and made kings and priests to God. To Christ be glory and dominion forever and ever. Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of God and will be coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

Christ will come again as Judge and Lord of all. Everyone is accountable to Him who is all in all and through all and in all. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Nothing was made without Him. He holds the key to the mysteries of God. He is the beginner and the finisher of life. He created all things with His words of mouth. We do not yet see everything subject to Him but see Jesus who is seating at the right hand of God until He has put all His enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25). Christ is the ultimate solution to humanity. Christ crucified and raised from the dead is the One worthy to open the scroll.  

“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.” (Revelation 5:1-7 NKJV)