Most know of Jesus Christ from the gospel accounts, which
paint a detailed picture of the One who came in the form of a man to die for
the redemption of “whosoever will” (John
3:16). Yet the Lord who Is, and Is
to come has been “transfigured” (Matthew
17:1-9), transformed into His eternal form, revealing the characteristics
that those who “love His appearing” (2
Timothy 4:8) will associate with Him to know in the eternity to come. The opening chapters of the Revelation which
John received from Jesus give us a description of Jesus the Messiah as He will
be seen at His second coming, and throughout all eternity.
In Revelation 1:4-8,
we receive a vivid picture of the resurrected Lord. Verses 1-3 establish that this revelation
comes from Jesus Himself. The words and
prophecy contained within are promised to be a blessing to those who hear and
keep the words that follow. We are also
told that the time of the events that are mentioned is “at hand”, or
imminent. The description of Jesus
begins in verse 4:
-
The One who Is, Was and Is to come (Psalm 90:2, 102:25-27, Isaiah 57:15, Micah
5:2) (vs. 4)
-
The Faithful Witness (Psalm 89:35-37 see addendum)
(vs. 5)
-
The Firstborn of the dead (Psalm 89:27, John 11:25-26, Acts 26:23, Colossians 1:18, 15:20-23) (vs. 5)
-
The Ruler of the kings of the earth (Psalm 72:11, Matthew 4:8 Satan offered
this to Jesus if He would worship him, 28:18, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14,
19:16) (vs. 5)
-
He who loves us (1 John 4:7-19, 13:1, 34-35, Romans 8:37, Ephesians 5:2, 25-27) (vs. 5)
-
He who washed us from our sins in His own blood (Acts 20:28, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews
9:14, 1 Peter 1:18-19) (vs. 5)
-
He has made us to be a kingdom of priests (or
kings and priests) to His God and Father (Exodus
19:6, Isaiah 61:6, 1 Peter 2:5-9) (vs.
6)
-
To Him be the glory and dominion forever and
ever (Daniel 4:34, Philippians 2:11, 1
Timothy 6:16, 1 Peter 5:11, Jude 1:25)
(vs. 6)
-
Behold, He is coming with the clouds (Acts 1:11) and every eye will see Him (Matthew 24:27, 30) and they also which
pierced Him (Zechariah 12:10-12, John
19:37) (vs. 7)
-
All tribes of the earth will mourn over Him (Matthew 24:30) (vs. 7)
-
I AM the Alpha and Omega (Isaiah 41:4, 44:6, 48:12, Hebrews 12:1-2) who Was, Is and Is to
come, the Almighty (Genesis 17:1,
Revelation 4:8, 21:22) (vs. 8)
Note that the first two descriptions above refer to the
eternal and all-powerful God in the heavens.
The second two refer to the eternal God who took the form of man (Jesus)
and has attained authority over death and authorities on earth. The third pair of descriptions are statements
of the personal savior of men and women throughout history, Messiah Jesus, who
loves “His sheep” (John 10:11-16) and
set His believers free from the debt and power of sin through His own blood. (Matthew
26:26-28, Romans 3:25, Ephesians 1:7)
The seventh part of this section describes the result of
Jesus Christ on those who believe. They
are to become a kingdom of priests or kings and priests to God the Father. It is uncertain which is exactly meant. The passage in Greek would seem to indicate
the best reading as being “a kingdom of priests”, and the weight of other
mentions in scripture (Exodus 19:6, 1
Peter 2:9) would seem to indicate that it should read as a “kingdom of
priests”.
Following that passage is the praise “to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever”. This is then
followed by the promise of His coming “with the clouds”, “every eye will see
Him” including those who pierced Him.
All the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him, and by this point in
history, the reason to mourn will be so great as to be overwhelming. This mourning comes from ages of death, loss,
suffering, pain, injustice, etc.
Finally, the passage ends where it began, and not without
reason. All things in the end return to
the One who was the beginning of all things.
This short passage is in effect an overview of the history of Jesus
Messiah as written in scripture. From
creation and the beginning in Eden, to His “theophanies” (the appearance of
Jesus Messiah in the Old Testament, before His incarnation), to the
accomplishments of His earthly ministries, and finally how this age ends, with
His coming and appearing to all mankind, their mourning for the One they
crucified and rejected, and His re-establishment before all souls of Who He
really is, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all history.
Revelation 1:9-11
then becomes a preface for the following descriptions of Jesus Christ as He is
today, waiting at the right hand of God, spiritually overseeing the churches of
His sheep.
In Revelation 1:12-13
John sees seven lampstands, which we are told in verse 20 are the seven
churches to whom he is sending this letter.
Note that believers are to be lamps to the world (Matthew 5:14-16). In the midst
of these lampstands is one “like the Son of Man”. (Daniel
7:13, John 5:27) Son of Man is a
specific title of Messiah, the divine savior provided by God as first mentioned
in the Old Testament. It is an important
description for those who would say that Jesus the Christ came in spirit only,
and not in the flesh. He is both God and
man, and the scriptures clearly proclaim both.
The description of the One “like the Son of Man” is as
follows:
-
He is clothed with a robe reaching his feet (vs.
13)
-
Girded about with a golden girdle (wrapping around
the waist) (Revelation 15:6) (vs.
13)
-
His head and hair are white like wool or snow
(vs. 14)
-
His eyes are like flames of a fire (Daniel 7:9-10) (vs. 14)
-
His feet look like “burnished” bronze, glowing
in the fire of a furnace (Daniel 10:2)
(vs. 15)
-
His voice is like the sound of many waters (Ezekiel 43:2) (vs. 15)
-
His right hand holds seven stars (this is the
angel for each of the seven churches vs. 20) (vs. 16)
-
Out of His mouth comes a sharp, two-edged sword (Isaiah 49:12, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation
2:12, 16, 19:15) (vs. 16)
-
His face is shining like the sun in the fullness
of its’ strength (Matthew 17:2, Jesus at
the transfiguration) (vs. 16)
-
At this point in the vision, John does what
other believers have done when they realized they were in the presence of God
Almighty. John falls at His feet like a
dead man. (Exodus 33:18-20, Isaiah
6:3-5, Luke 5:8) (vs. 17)
-
Jesus here is described as the Living One (Job 19:25) (vs. 18)
-
I (Jesus) was dead – Behold – I AM alive forever
more! (Hebrews 7:16) (vs. 18)
-
I have the keys of Death and Hades (vs. 18)
This last statement becomes the emphatic declaration of the
power and authority over all things that Jesus Christ now possesses. In 1
Corinthian 15:21-28 we get the explanation of the great plan of God from
Eden to the end of the age. The last
enemy to be defeated is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26) Jesus set the “captives” free as part of His
work after His death but before His resurrection. Ephesians 4:8-10 describes this momentous event as a fulfillment of
the prophecies uttered in Psalm 68:18
and Isaiah 61:1. This power Jesus
has over death is confirmed in 2
Corinthians 5:8 and 2 Timothy 1:10.
This is why death no longer has any “sting” over God’s people. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Finally, we see the end of the angels Death
and Hell/Hades in Revelation 20:14.
DOES GOD NEED A
CO-SIGNER? THE WITNESS IN THE CLOUDS
By Michael S. Heiser
We all know why co-signing a loan is required. The bank assumes that the person who is being
loaned the money may not be able to repay it.
Their commitment or ability is in question. In the Bible, God typically swears by His own
character when entering a covenant since there is no one above Him who
qualifies to co-sign the agreement (Hebrews
6:13). There is a fascinating
exception to this in the Book of Psalms.
Psalm 89:35-37
repeats the covenant between God and David from 2 Samuel 7 with an addendum at the end that is not found in 2
Samuel 7. I’ve italicized the key
phrases and arranged the verses to show their parallelism, labeling them by
letters:1
A.
I have
sworn by My Holy One;
B.
I will not lie to David.
C.
His descendants shall be forever.
C.
His throne (His dynastic descendants) shall be
as the sun before Me.
B.
It (David’s throne) shall be established forever
like the moon,
A.
And a
witness in the clouds will be faithful.
God swears a covenant oath to David and promises that
David’s descendants will forever have the right to sit on Jerusalem’s
throne. The promise is guaranteed by an
unidentified witness in the clouds (God’s “Holy One”). Why would God need someone to witness an
agreement He initiated? Who in heaven
(“the clouds”) has that authority?
It was common in polytheistic religions of the ancient world
to have gods witness the covenant agreements made by other gods.2 But there are no other gods in Israel’s faith
equal to or above the God of Israel. Yet
Psalm 89 requires an equal to Yahweh
who will uphold the covenant. Who is
this witness in the heavens who will be faithful to the covenant of David’s
eternal dynasty? Who will make sure
God’s promise comes to pass and never fails?
The New Testament answers these questions in Revelation 1:4-5:
John
says to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven
spirits that are before His throne, and from Jesus
Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings
on earth.
Jesus, as the son of David, has
fulfilled the Davidic covenant of Psalm 89.
Since the New Testament presents Jesus as true deity incarnate (true God
in flesh), and equal in nature with the God of the Old Testament, Jesus
fulfills the role of witness-guarantor eternally.
1.
English
translations disagree on this passage for very technical reasons. This is my own literal rendering, though the
NASB comes closest to my translation.
2.
For examples see Heiser, “Ancient Semitic
Inscriptions – How Can They Assist English Bible Study?” at http://michaelheiser.com/Psalm89.pdf.
