In my studies of Revelation 1, I discovered three simple truths about Jesus. I knew them already, but was reminded of them. Often, our spiritual problem is forgetfulness. We need to be reminded of simple truths. So, here are a few about Jesus.
Jesus loves the church.
The seven candlesticks are the seven churches in Asia, and Jesus stands among them. These are local churches. No matter what the churches face, Jesus protects them with His all-encompassing love and reassuring power. Through His Spirit, Jesus Christ is still among the churches today. When a church faces persecution, it should remember His deep love and care. When a church is wracked by internal strife and conflict, it should remember His concern for purity and His intolerance of sin. Be careful how you treat one of His churches. Bur remember church, the purpose of the church is primarily to be a light.
Jesus is the glorified Son of God.
While Jesus is the ‘Son of Man’ (v. 13), He is the ‘Son of God.’ John lived with Jesus for 3 years and saw Him as both. But when he saw Him in His glorified body, He fell to His feet. This happened during His earthly life at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2). When John saw the glorified Lordship of Jesus Christ three things happened: 1. He was terrified in fear (v. 17). 2. Jesus gave him assurance (v. 17-18). He was given something to do – write the Book of Revelation (v. 19). This is similar to Isaiah’s response to the vision of the glorified Lord in Heaven (Isaiah 6).
Jesus controls life, death and eternity.
Our sins have convicted and sentenced us, but Jesus hold the keys of Death and Hell. He alone can free us from eternal bondage to Satan. And He whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. Jesus alone has the power and authority to set us free from sin’s control. Believers don’t have to fear Hell or death because Jesus hold the keys to both. All we must do is turn from sin and turn to Him in faith. When we attempt to control our life and disregard God, we set a course that leads directly to Hell. But when we place our life in Christ’s hands, He restores us now and resurrects us after to an eternal, peaceful relationship with Him.
This is a cute little story that illustrates what can happen when we pray to Jesus. The pastor of a church had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could reach up and get the kitten. But as he moved the car forward, the rope broke. The tree went ‘boing!’ and the kitten instantly sailed through the air – out of sight. The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, ‘Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,’ and went on about his business. A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?’ She replied, ‘You won’t believe this,’ and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, ‘Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.’ She told the pastor, ‘I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.’