A study of Revelation
Message 6
Revelation 1:12-20
The worship of our Age
Rev 1:12-18 And I turned to see the voice that spake with
me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13And in the
midst of the seven candlesticks one like
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about
the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were
white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were
as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they
burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp
twoedged sword: and his countenance was
as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at
his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18I am he that liveth, and
was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death.
Introduction: Tonight we continue with the theme of “the worship of our age.” This is the second message pertaining to this theme. The message we begin tonight will continue over several weeks. As you see there are nine points to address and each one is very important. We will look at a nine fold description of Jesus Christ, each of these descriptions point out a very significant aspect of our Lord and Savior. We already know Jesus as a personal savior and hopefully the Lord of our life but we don’t know Him as he will be at the end of this age. Jesus revealed to John an image of the Lord and due to the Revelation we are able to see this image as well. It is important for us to understand this image is real and not some kind of mental picture or allegory that John put together for a spiritual story. Look with me as we learn about Revelations nine fold description of Jesus.
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
We have already learned that Revelation is one word that describes an unveiling. In this scripture we see the Lord clothed down to the foot, when the Revelation begins Jesus is veiled down to the foot. When the Lord walked among men on this earth His deity was hidden from men by His human nature. Remember Jesus had two natures, a human nature that was without sin He was made flesh as you and I, second He was fully God every miracle performed, every sick person healed, every sinner forgiven, every parable told came directly from God through the person Jesus Christ.
Some two thousand years ago God dwelled among us and what did we do with Him? We stripped Him of His garments, gambled for them and hung Him from a tree. During the brightest part of the day while Christ hung on the cross exposed in front of all mankind, God clothed Him by darkening the world around Him. Now John tells us, he sees the Lord fully clothed concealed from us as He resides in Heaven standing amidst the lampstands (symbolic of the churches) where He dwells among us without us seeing or physically knowing of Him.
and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
What do we know about a girdle? Well it restrains. What do
we know about the word paps? It is a word used to describe the mid section of a
person’s body. It this case it is used to describe the emotions of Christ. When
I use the phrase “the unemotional one” I do not mean to imply that Christ
cannot be touched by our infirmities, we know the Bible teaches otherwise.
While on earth Christ wept at Lazarus tomb, over
His head and his hairs were white like wool,
In Isaiah 1:18 we read “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” He knows what sin and temptations are. You and I are compelled to and attracted by sin. Christ was not, sin was not attractive to Christ. Though Christ had a human nature, His body was made of clay and He was from the same mold as you and I, His nature was unfallen and divine.
and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
In the Bible fire is a symbol of cleansing. Fire brings impurities to the top allowing them to be removed and cast away. During John’s Revelation we see the eyes of Christ as a flame of fire, and they flash with holy anger as He sees the wreck and ruin that sin has made of earth. John sees His eyes burning like fire as He sweeps the globe with His glance, seeing everything by everyone.
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace
Christ is undeterrable, nothing can stand in His way. During
His first stay here Christ was undeterrable then as well. He made His way with
unhurried calm to
and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Have you ever listened to a water fall, even a small one has a deafening roar? It sounds of power and authority. In contrast one of the mysteries of this present age is the silence of God as we consider it. It should not be confused with a silence of indifference; it is instead of silence of sabbatical rest. One day His voice as the sound of many waters will break the silence with a roar, and all voices raised in angry will be silenced, drowned out by His. Today we have the silence of mercy and grace; tomorrow we will have the roar of judgment.
And he had in his right hand seven stars
Stars reside in the heavens, as do these stars. You see
these stars are the angels of the seven churches. How do I know this you may ask, Revelation
1:20 makes this clear, you will see when our study goes there? This symbol
suggests one who has complete control over all forces known and unknown,
natural and supernatural, seen and unseen, all those who shape the destiny of
men. Notice the scripture tells us that He uses His right hand, the hand of power.
Those things that overtake us are not overlooked by Him they are overruled by
Him. It is not that He is careless, for the hands that holds the stars still
bears the scars of
and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword:
The word of God; Hebrews 4:12 tells us “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Nothing can stand before God’s word, ten times in Genesis1 we read, “and God said.” From this worlds sprang into existence, darkness fled the earth arose; life forms appeared in countless multitude. In the form of Jesus the word was made flesh, demons, disease and death fled. Whether it is the word going forth to replenish the earth as in Genesis 1 or to redeem the earth as in the days of His flesh or to reclaim the earth as here in majestic scene, the result is always the same. Whether as creator, comforter or conqueror the Word is invincible.
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Jesus was the most approachable of men when He walked on
earth, from the smallest child to the oldest adult, from the publican to the
statesman anyone and everyone could have approached Jesus. As John wrote the
Revelation he shows us a Jesus who no longer is approachable just as we cannot
look upon the shinning power of the sun we will not be able to look upon the
shinning power of the lion of the tribe of
Conclusion: We close our message by using the latter part of verse 17 and all of verse 18. John tells us that “he fell at His feet as dead” as we stand before the Lord and experience His presence first hand we must realize how awesome that will be. If John could only fall at His feet how will I handle it? As we consider worship we must also realize the character of the age is one of instinctive worship, John is in the spirit and he is at Jesus feet. This is the same gracious Savior John had known so well on earth although terrible now in His glory John tells us hallelujah! What a Savior.