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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand, He held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.
Revelation 1:9-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Before we get too far into Chapter 1 of the Book of Revelation, John tells us where the Revelation originated. I’m sure the day was like any other day for John. As an apostle, he would have been setting out to prayerfully carry out the Lord’s will, most certainly teaching and preaching the Gospel and ever seeking to help others find their salvation in Christ Jesus.
But the Lord had special plans for John on this Lord’s Day, a term used for the first day of the week because it was on that day that Jesus rose from the dead. John shares that he was "in the Spirit" when he heard a loud voice behind him, demanding that he "write down” what he was about to see and report it to “the seven churches which were Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
When John turns to see who is giving him the order, he witnesses the very majesty and power of Jesus right before his eyes. The scriptures tell us there were "seven golden lamp stands” with the "Son of Man" standing in the middle of them. There, we read where Jesus’ face was radiating an awesome light, "like the sun shining in all its brilliance", and this would have been unbelievably magnificent enough except there was more. For the hair of Jesus was as white as wool or snow, his eyes “like blazing fire”, his feet “like bronze glowing in a furnace”, his voice like “rushing waters”, and emerging from His mouth was a "sharp double edged sword.” Standing like this in front of John while holding “seven stars”, Jesus provided an incredible spectacle for him to experience, one he thankfully recorded in obedience as he was told to do.
Question: How would you respond if you encountered such an experience with Jesus?
I’m pretty sure your response would have been like John’s for the scriptures tell us that he fell at Jesus’ feet “as though dead," surely frightened beyond belief.
But then something amazing happened.
For in the presence of all the glory found in the Almighty, Powerful Son of God, John experienced His awesome grace and love. For we read where Jesus "placed His right hand on” John and spoke four words of comfort and peace:
"Do not be afraid."
He then tells John who He is, "the First and the Last”, “the Living One” who had once died but now was alive as ever, “alive forever and ever” and holding “the keys of death and Hades”.
And with that, we find Jesus directing John to write what he has seen, “what is now and what will take place later”. This included this “mystery of the seven stars he held in His right hand and the seven lamp stands. Jesus stated:
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.
And with that, how did John respond?
It’s obvious he did just as Jesus commanded because we have this wonderful Book of Revelation to read and study today, a book that promises to bless anyone who reads its words or hears them and takes them to heart (1:3).
As this first chapter closes, we are left to reflect on times when the Lord Jesus may have spoken to us in a special, powerful way and ponder how we responded. The truth is that Jesus wishes to speak to all of us in personally, significant ways. He meets us where we are in the midst of whatever circumstances we may be in with the desire to bless us, teach us, heal us, and love us in ways we never imagined.
With this, we should be prepared to receive Him in three ways:
First, like John, we need to consistently be in the Spirit for when we are, we will always now we’re connected to the Lord. We need to always open our hearts and minds in prayer, asking for our Savior to lead and guide us in His ways. When we do, we can be assured that He will reveal His will to us and provide direction to carry out so that will can be done, just as John did when he wrote down everything he witnessed.
The second thing we need to do is to praise Jesus for His greatness and splendor. We should ever be in awe that the Son of God who has been granted authority over everything in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) would want to even come into the hearts of sinners like us to do anything good...and yet He does because He wishes to partner with us to further His kingdom right here in the world we live. Like John, we should respond to being in the presence of Jesus with absolute reverence and give him the fullest measure of our thanksgiving and honor.
Finally, we need to respond to Jesus with obedience. John received orders to write down what he saw and he did, authoring the Book of Revelation.
How about us? What is Jesus calling us to do today?
My prayer is that we will open our hearts and minds to receive our Savior, praise Him for what He intends to do in and through us, and respond to His call with absolute submission.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is with us each and every day. Let us rejoice in the fellowship we have with Him this day and forever more.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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