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17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. ~ Revelation 1:17-19
We continue today in the first vision of the Lord Jesus that God gave to John, the Apostle. John was given this vision in order to set everything straight from the beginning that the Lord Jesus Christ is preeminent over all, and having believed in Him, John is going to be okay, as well.
Today's text begins with, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last."
When the Lord Jesus walked the earth, generally people didn’t fall to the ground before Him because His glory was veiled by His humanity. But to see Him with His unveiled glory not shielded is shocking. In fact, it was so shocking to John that he fell at the feet of the Lord Jesus as if he were a dead man.
In response, the Lord Jesus does three things. He first laid His right hand upon John. Throughout the Bible it is clear that the right hand is the hand of power and authority. It is also the hand of favor, and the Lord Jesus is saying to John through His right handed touch, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last."
"Do not be afraid," is the most often repeated command in the Bible. God knows that most often we are motivated by our fears more than anything else. This, of course, is not healthy for us. You will remember that after sinning, Adam and Eve were separated from God, and they, out of fear, hid from Him. They hid because their theology had been changed and they saw God for whom He was not.
You see, John the Apostle, is setting the stage here for this warrior who has already won all battles with evil. And, since He died for the forgiveness of our sin and we have believed, we have been included by Him in His family and we have no need to fear Him or anyone else.
In v.18 we read, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."
Since the Lord Jesus conquered our greatest enemy, sin and death, by raising from the dead, He is alive forevermore. There will never be a moment when we need Him and He will not be there, for He holds the keys of Hades and of Death.
In v.19 we read, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this."
Revelation 1:19 is the thesis statement for all of the book of the Revelation. The Lord Jesus tells John to write down three things: The things which you have seen are covered in Revelation 1. The things which are will be covered in Revelation 2-3. And, the things which will take place after this will be covered in Revelation 4-22.
The focal point of this future look is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why this book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. In fact, He is the focal point of the entire Bible. He is seen throughout the Old Testament as He was personified and prophesied. We saw Him in the gospels as He came into the world and lived His life in humility, died, and rose again, and ascended back into heaven. In the epistles, the apostles have written about the meaning of His life, ministry, death, and His resurrection. All of that is past and present. The book of His Revelation takes us into the future.
As we study the book of Revelation, we are going to see the glory of Christ, because this is the revelation of His glory. As we look in the mirror of the book of the Revelation, it will reflect to us the shining glory of the Lord, and that reflection will transform us into His very image from one level of glory to the next as the Spirit of God applies it to our lives. So, you are and I am in for a life-changing experience. Are you glad that you are all in?
