Worship His Majesty

When you pick up a travel brochure, they don’t sell you on the drive to the airport, or the busy terminal, the crowded seats at your gate, or even the plane ride itself. They sell you on the destination. They sell you on the cozy sunlit beach, the snowy mountain resort, the ski slopes, or the glassy lake in the dense forest. They sell you on the experience you will have once you arrive at the destination. The book of Revelation is doing something similar.

A few weeks ago, I talked about studying the book of Revelation like a journey up a mountain. The mountain is the return of Christ. Jesus is the central figure of all scripture, and as we begin to journey up the mountain, we are sold a view of Christ that should change our perspective forever. Last week we talked about who Jesus is and what he has done.

In the final section, John gives us the context for his vision. The island of Patmos sits in the middle of the Aegean sea, right between Greece and Turkey. John was placed there in exile due to the spreading of the gospel, which caught the attention of the Romans. Roman historians and early church writings tell us the Romans would use islands in the Aegean sea as places of exile, so the Bible affirms what took place at the time.

Something peculiar takes place in that John describes himself as in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. The consensus among scholars is the Lord’s day referred to the first day of the week, as we are gathered today on the Lord’s day. This came from the resurrection of Jesus being on a Sunday, and early Christians began meeting on Sundays, a tradition that has not been broken in nearly 2000 years.

Being in the Spirit describes a heightened spiritual state, in which the person experiences divine visions. There is a difference between being filled with the Holy Spirit and being in the Spirit. One can be full of the Holy Spirit and go about the Father’s business, but then one can also be in the Spirit, in which he or she is in this state where divine visions come from. This is not an isolated incident either. Peter is described in Acts 10:10 as entering into a trance, by which he received the vision of the sheet being lowered from heaven with all kinds of unclean animals on it, where God directs him to kill and eat. Paul is recorded in Acts 22 describing a time where he was at the temple in Jerusalem praying, and he entered a trance and received divine instruction. Ezekiel describes being taken up between heaven and earth by the Spirit where he received a vision in Ezekiel 8. Daniel witnessed a vision and lost all strength, and natural color, then fell asleep in Daniel 10.

The voice John hears instructs him to write what he sees and send it to the seven churches in Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These will all be talked about in the coming weeks. But then John turns his head to see who is speaking. Let’s read this together.

Revelation 1:12–16 NASB95

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Spoiler alert: Verse 20 tells us what all these symbols mean. The seven lampstands are the seven churches that were just named. But as John begins to describe this figure standing among them, he says he was like a son of man. If you know the book of Ezekiel, this same term is used to refer to the coming Messiah. In Daniel 7:13, the Son of Man is described as one who has an everlasting kingdom, and that all people from every nation will worship him. Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man approximately 78 times in the gospels. John turns and sees Jesus!

The white hair is a call back to Daniel 7:9

Daniel 7:9 NASB95

“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.

The Ancient of Days is a title for God himself, and Revelation 1:14 is another reference among many connecting Jesus and God the Father, demonstrating equality. His eyes being like a flame of fire and his feet being like burnished bronze connects back to Daniel 10:6,

Daniel 10:6 NASB95

His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.

As part of his kingly stature, Jesus has eyes of piercing judgment. He has eyes that see right through you. We can hide a lot of things from one another. We can put on a facade, and clean up the outside. We can put on the version of us that we want everyone else to see, but Christ sees through the layers we have built and sees us for who we truly are. That can be scary until we remember that he is a God of mercy and grace, desiring that none should perish, but that all may come to the truth: that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried in a tomb, and rose on the third day, declaring victory over sin and death, and to give you a new life if you will believe in him and follow him.

His voice sounding like many waters is a call back to Ezekiel 43:2

Ezekiel 43:2 NASB95

and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

The glory of God refers to his majestic beauty and splendor. John is getting a glimpse of it here. Notice how Ezekiel connects the glory of God to the way his voice sounds. Now, John is describing what Jesus sounds like, but what Jesus says is also intelligible. It is not merely the noise of rushing water. It is powerful. It carries a weight to it that is difficult to describe.

Out of his mouth comes a sword, connecting us to what the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 4:12

Hebrews 4:12 NASB95

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The word of God pierces us to the core of our being. It reads us perhaps more than we read it.

His face was shining brightly, like the sun. The interesting thing here is it describes Jesus’ appearance atop the mountain of transfiguration, an event John was present for. As we look at all of this together, the picture of Jesus becomes clear: He is the the supreme ruler of the universe. He is God incarnate. We get a picture of his glory, his majesty, his beauty and power. Do you remember when John, Peter and James were on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured? They could hardly look at him. Remember when Moses caught a glimpse of the glory of God on mount Sinai? As he came down the mountain, his face shone as a result of witnessing a fraction of the glory of God.

What do you do when you encounter a God like that? We can see what John did.

Revelation 1:17–20 NASB95

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. “As for 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 are the seven churches.

John’s response to seeing the glory and majesty of Jesus was to fall at his feet like a dead man. When we see Jesus for who he truly is, there should be a similar response. It is not that we should literally fall over every time there is a movement of God, but when you catch a glimpse of Jesus for who he is, who can stand in that presence? God told Moses in Exodus 33 that no man can see his face and live. The presence of God on Mount Sinai was so powerful that the people insisted they speak with Moses or they would die. The holiness of God is so pure that sinful man cannot stand before him on his own.

But Jesus responds with, “Do not be afraid.” Jesus reminds him that he is the resurrected one, and that he holds the keys of death and Hades.

There are a few things we want to take note of in this passage.

Jesus still stands among his churches.

Jesus is still head of the church. Through the Holy Spirit, he continues his presence with us. Remember that Jesus promised his disciples that he would be with them until the end of the age. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit was sent as a fulfillment of that promise. Now everyone who believes has the presence of Jesus wherever they go.

As we gather every Sunday, we seek to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us from darkness and into his marvelous light. But we do not do so absent of the presence of Jesus. In fact, because the Holy Spirit is doing his job, we can say that Jesus attends the church services of every true church worldwide every week. When we gather as the church, the head of the church gathers with us.

Jesus still stands among his people. We both honor and heal from our past, seek him in the present, and trust him with our future.

The majesty of Christ must elevate our worship.

When we see Jesus the way John saw Jesus, there should be some level of paralysis as we respond in reverent awe of his majesty. The God who spoke the sun, the moon, and stars into existence, the one who was dead but is alive forevermore, the one who holds the keys to death and Hades, the one who grants eternal life has chosen to have a personal relationship with you. The same God who could speak us out of existence has chosen to pave the way for us to have proximity to his majesty. You can never approach a king of any human government uninvited, but the king of creation has invited you.

When we see Jesus for who he is, our lives will naturally center around him.

What we get before we dive into the letters to the seven churches, we get a glimpse of the mountaintop view of Jesus. We see him in all his splendor and majesty. When we recognize that Jesus has given us access to him, we understand he is the pearl of great price and we should do everything we can to keep him at the center of our lives.

What must move to give Jesus center stage in your life? What must move to give Jesus center stage in our church? What must move so we can see Jesus for who he truly is?