Revelation 2
ABSChapter 2. Christ in the ApocalypseTo him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, so Christ is the theme as well as the Author of the book of Revelation. It gives us the picture of our enthroned Redeemer as John beheld Him in the heavens 60 years after His ascension. It is therefore the picture of Christ as He is today, and possesses a present and profound interest for every Christian heart. Let us gather up the scattered rays and focus them into a living picture of our glorious Redeemer.
Jesus As Divine
Jesus As DivineWe behold our blessed Redeemer all through this apocalyptic vision in the glory of the Son of God. “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance” (Revelation 1:16). “His voice was like the sound of rushing waters” (Revelation 1:15). From His face the earth and heaven flee away. He sits upon the judgment throne and the kings of the earth call upon the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. He is in the midst of the throne of deity and all the universe worships Him jointly with the Father ascribing “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power” (Revelation 5:13). He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the divine and eternal Word of God.
Jesus As Human
Jesus As HumanBut nonetheless do we see Him as the Son of man. It is the same Jesus who lived and loved, suffered and died on earth. He uses the same old phrase in speaking to John the beloved that He used once on the Sea of Galilee to calm the disciples’ fears. When John fell at His feet as dead He gently lifted him by the hand and said in the old sweet phrase, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive” (Revelation 1:17-18). Amid all the glories of heaven, could you look through the open door which John saw, you would behold a Man in the midst of the throne and in control of all the governments of the universe and all the destinies of men.
Jesus As Crucified
Jesus As CrucifiedThere is no compromise about the theology of the Apocalypse. There is no attempt to evade the literal meaning of the cross and the atonement. The central figure of the heavenly court is “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). The marks of Calvary are worn without disguise or shame. They are the very glory of our exalted Lord. It is not as the Lion of the tribe of Judah so much as the Lamb, with the memorials of suffering, that He has power to loose the seals and open the book of destiny and set in operation all the procession of events that lead to the coming glory. The opening tribute of the beloved apostle is “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Revelation 1:5). The description of the ransomed and the glorified is this: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, ’they are before the throne of God’” (Revelation 7:14-15). The chorus of the heavenly hosts is this, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). In one of the closing passages of this sublime book, the lower criticism tried for ages to eliminate the language of the cross and introduce a text which might support their foundation for human salvation. In Revelation 22:14, the former reading, “Blessed are they that do His commandments that they might have right to the tree of life and enter through the gates into the city,” has been happily restored to the original text, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” This book opens no other door, reveals no other right of way, and speaks no other message of salvation than the blood of the Lamb.
Jesus As the Risen and the Living One
Jesus As the Risen and the Living OneThe very second name given to our blessed Lord in the Apocalypse is the “firstborn from the dead” (Revelation 1:5). He comes to us in this vision not in the nature of the first but the second Adam; not as the Christ of Judea and Galilee now, but as the Christ of the open grave, the 40 days and the heavenly glory. He comes as the great Author and Leader of a new race, men that have passed through death with Him and entered into the resurrection life. This is not the book of the old creation, but of the new. The only pathway to it is the rent veil of the flesh, and the only passport is to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). The inheritance revealed in this Apocalypse is for those who, like their Leader, have been begotten from the dead and entered upon a resurrection life, dead to self and sin through the power of the Savior’s cross and blood.
Jesus As Our Great Prophet
Jesus As Our Great ProphetThe very first name by which He stands revealed in the Apocalypse is “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5). We find this again quoted in His address to the church of Laodicea, the last of His messages to the churches, written to an age when men are questioning the authority of the Scriptures and the messages of Christ. He stands revealed as the Truth as well as the Life—God’s supreme, authoritative and final Messenger of His will to man. He is our great Teacher, the Light of the world, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and once more in this book God “has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:2). Let us “pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).
Jesus As Our Great High Priest
Jesus As Our Great High PriestThe Apocalypse reveals our blessed Lord in the very array and form of the Jewish priesthood. He stands before us in the opening vision on the Isle of Patmos arrayed in the priestly garment and wearing the girdle of priestly service. And later on in the apocalyptic vision we behold Him in the eighth chapter as the mighty Angel who stood over the altar having the golden censer and much incense that He should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. It is He who represents us at the Father’s side. It is He who takes our prayers, mingles with them the incense of His merits and His influence and secures their efficacy and their answer, and fills the censer with fire from the altar and then pours it back again upon the earth in the mighty results that come from believing prayer in Jesus’ name. “Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess,” (Hebrews 4:14) and “let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Jesus As the Lord of Providence
Jesus As the Lord of ProvidenceWe behold Him not only as the Priest but as a King. First He is our mediatorial King. He sits at the right hand of God administering the government of the world and exercising that authority and dominion by the right of His accomplished redemption. Therefore it is He who looses the seals and opens the book of destiny. It is He who orders and arranges the events of providence. It is He who plans the life of every believer. “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior” (Acts 5:31). He is the Lord of all and our Lord, Head over all things for His body, the Church, and sitting on His throne and from henceforth expecting until all His enemies are made His footstool. Nothing happens without His permission. Nothing is to Him a surprise or an insuperable obstacle. He is turning and overturning and preparing His kingdom amid all the vicissitudes and convulsions which distract the ages and often perplex the hearts of the saints. Christ is on the throne and we may trust His wisdom, power and love.
Jesus As the King of the Nations
Jesus As the King of the NationsHe is specially referred to in this book as the Prince of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). He wears upon His vesture and upon His thigh the name “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). He is earth’s true sovereign. Not only is He now ruling over the domain of providence but He is yet to rule over the earth, in view of all the nations and with the submission of every throne and tribe and tongue. He is earth’s coming King and earth never will be at rest until He reigns supreme and universal Lord of lords.
Jesus As the King of Israel
Jesus As the King of IsraelHe is here revealed as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the One who has the right to wear upon His escutcheon the arms of David and Judah. He is the Root and Offspring of David. Thus He is at once his Progenitor and Heir. David but represented Him upon Israel’s throne, and He is yet to sit there as David’s natural Heir. He “holds the key of David. What he opens, no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7). Very clearly does Israel’s future destiny shine out through the lurid clouds of the Apocalypse and the coming age for which her children wait when her King again will sit on Mount Zion, on David’s throne.
Jesus As the King of the Saints and the Head of the Church
Jesus As the King of the Saints and the Head of the ChurchVery specially is this aspect of His enthroned life emphasized in the Apocalypse. He reveals Himself as the One who walks amid the seven golden lampstands which are the seven churches. He claims the supreme authority and control over His Church. Very searching is the light of His omniscience and omnipresence; very high is the standard of holiness, faithfulness and watchfulness which He claims from her; very solemn are the warnings and rebukes which He addresses to the unfaithful, the lukewarm and the lifeless. “I know your deeds” (Revelation 3:15), He is saying over and over again. He is quick to perceive the declension of the life of Ephesus and to warn her of her impending judgment. His searching glance instantly detects the depths of Satan in Thyatira. He cannot be deceived by Laodicea’s riches and pretensions. He knows that her heart is lukewarm and He is ready to spew her out of His mouth because she is neither cold nor hot. He is as quick to appreciate the faithfulness of Smyrna and Philadelphia and the “few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes” (Revelation 3:4). Oh, how heart-searching His flaming eye and His consuming Word! He is walking among the churches. He is sitting in every audience and listening to the preacher, and He is passing through every prayer meeting and feeling its pulse; He is present at every business council and general assembly and judging of the faithfulness or worldliness of His people. He will accept but gold tried in the fire, and when His people meet Him their works shall be tried with fire, and only that which is divine and God-touched can pass the solemn scrutiny of the judgment seat of Christ. Let us deeply realize the solemn significance of Christ’s presence and sovereignty over His Church and His own people.
Jesus As Our Coming Lord
Jesus As Our Coming LordIt is needless to say that this is the one burden of all the book, the one outlook of all its visions, the one solution of all its mysteries, the key of history, the goal of the ages, the blessed hope of the Church and the saint. “Look, he is coming with the clouds” (Revelation 1:7), is its opening message. “Yes, I am coming soon” (Revelation 22:20), is its parting word. Maranatha might well be its motto, “Even so” (Revelation 22:20), the amen of His people’s response.
Jesus As the Light and Glory of Heaven
Jesus As the Light and Glory of HeavenMany a beautiful vision is given in the Apocalypse of the heavenly city, both as it is today and as it will be when all tears are wiped away and all the ransomed will have been gathered home. But amid all the visions and all the ages, the central thought is ever this, “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water” (Revelation 7:17). “They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light” (Revelation 22:5). To be with Jesus, to be like Jesus—this is heaven.
Jesus As the Lover of His People
Jesus As the Lover of His People"To him who loves us" (Revelation 1:5) is its opening ascription. This glorious Christ, this Lord of heaven and Lord of earth, this Christ is our beloved Lord and everlasting Friend, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1). Amid all the glories of heaven His heart is ever upon us and His love to us can never grow old; and as sometimes amid the royal pageant a little child will leap from the arms of its nurse to the bosom of the queen, before whose majesty all others bow, so amid all the grandeur of His throne, John can still lean upon His breast and you and I can look up into His face and sing Jesus, Lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly.
Jesus As the Lover of Sinners and Savior of the Lost
Jesus As the Lover of Sinners and Savior of the LostThe last picture of Jesus Christ in the Apocalypse is one of tender compassion and infinite mercy to the unsaved. Bending from His throne above, before the hour of judgment strikes and the awful realities of this vision begin to be fulfilled, He cries in the one last invitation which seems to condense into deeper and tenderer meaning all that He ever said before. “Let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come” (Revelation 22:17). And as if He would make it easier still, “whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).