Thursday • April 19
Christ in Revelation: Part Two
Read Revelation 1:10-18.
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And 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.
1:14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 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.
1:17 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:
1:18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
What does Jesus say about Himself there?
Jesus appears in these verses, standing in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. The revelation of Him in this role was so great that John fell at His feet in fear. Jesus, ever comforting, tells him not to be afraid and points to Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last — references to His eternal existence as God. Later He talks about His death and resurrection and the hope that His resurrection brings. Jesus has the keys to “Death and Hades”. In other words, Jesus here is saying to John what He said to Martha at the death of her brother, words that John also recorded: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25, 26) .
With Martha and now with John, Jesus points us to the hope of the resurrection, the culmination and climax of the Christian faith. Without this hope, what hope is there?
Read Revelation 22:7, 12, 13.
22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
What do these verses reveal about Jesus, as well?
“Christ Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Genesis of the Old Testament, and the Revelation of the New. Both meet together in Christ. Adam and God are reconciled by the obedience of the second Adam, who accomplished the work of overcoming the temptations of Satan and redeeming Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall”. — Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary , vol. 6, pp. 1092, 1093. Yes, Jesus is the beginning and the end. He created us in the beginning, and He will recreate us in the end.
Yes, Jesus will recreate us in the end when He comes. But, that He can do alone. He has power to make Adam from the dust the ground, so He has power to give us glorified bodies. But, Christ does not have power to recreate our character without our cooperation. And, that does not happen at the end, it happens today when we make a full surrender to Him. At conversion we are recreated as new creatures in Christ Jesus. This is the greatest miracle that God can perform with our cooperation. We can only be changed when we fall in love with Jesus and surrender all we have and all we are to His care. We will not do that until we can trust Him. We will not trust Him with everything until we know Him intimately.
Thus, today we have a work to do so that we can know Him. This is why Scripture tells us that "saving" faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The Bible is a revelation of Christ. As we study the Word, we will learn of Him who gave all that we might be recreated in His image. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18. This happens in our day, not at the end of time.
From start to finish, as it teaches us about not only history but about end-time events, the book of Revelation is still the Apocalypsis Iesou Christou, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Again, whatever else we may study about final events, Jesus Christ must be the center of it all.
What are ways, every day, that we can keep Jesus the center of our lives?
It begins the night before. We must go to bed early that we might arise early to spend a thoughtful hour with Jesus. As we contemplate His love, and His sacrificial life, we are touched by His grace and the heart is fully surrendered. Then we are empowered to live a life of consecration that reflects His character to a world soon to perish. We must die daily in order to have this power. We must keep our eyes upon Jesus throughout the day in order to have power to give honor and glory to Him by manifesting the fruit of His Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance all come when Jesus is given the whole heart. Not one of these fruits will be missing from the life. We are recreated when we are truly converted. The character is changed when Jesus has the whole heart. The motives are pure and holy when the Holy Spirit fills the heart. We may keep the wrong day, eat the wrong food, because know no better, but the heart is cleansed from sin and is as white as snow we when love Jesus supremely. This we may do today, for today is the day of salvation.