The Glory Of The Ascended Christ
THE GLORY OF THE ASCENDED CHRIST
REVELATION 1:9-20
How great is Jesus to you?
If, as seems almost certain, Revelation was written about AD 90 during Domitian’s persecution, John will have been getting on for eighty years old when he was condemned to hard labor in the quarries of Patmos. This must have been physically crushing for a man of his age, but though he had no day off and little leisure, he could still be “in the Spirit” (1:10). It is unlikely that the Lord’s day means Sunday; it corresponds rather to the Day of the Lord in the Old Testament, meaning the period in which the judgments of God are at large in the world as he sets up his universal rule. While the visions may perhaps span a long period in the history of the church, they are looking to and preparing for the second coming. “The seven churches” (1:11) are literal, and a Bible map will show that they come in the natural order for a messenger carrying the letters; seven, however, indicates that we may expect to find all forms of church experience paralleled here. The force of “angels” (1:20) is not clear; it may mean their guardian angels, see also Matthew 18:10. Neither bishops nor the churches’ messengers to John carries conviction.
The description of the glorified Christ is almost completely symbolic. “One like a son of man” (1:13; see also Daniel 7:13)—human, yet with heavenly glory. “A long robe”: see Isaiah 6:1; the length of his garment showed his dignity as king and priest. The “girdle” by its material showed the wearer’s rank; that it was “around his chest” means that it was not holding up his robe, ie he was at rest, his work completed. “His hair” (1:14; see also Daniel 7:9); he is simultaneously one like a son of man and the Ancient of Days, depicted with white hair because he has existed from all eternity. The description of his eyes reflects Daniel 10:6—for him to see means purification or destruction. “His feet” (1:15) showed that there had been no defilement from the paths of earth he had trodden. “Like the sound of many waters” (1:15; see also Ezekiel 1:24); to stand by a rockbound coast in a storm or a mighty waterfall and let the noise possess you will give the sense. The “two-edged sword” (1:16) reminds us of Hebrews 4:12f. The “right hand” (1:17) is a symbol of strength and protection, so it also imparts strength. “I died” (1:18): better, “I became dead” (RV), for it refers to a deliberate and voluntary action. “Hades” (Hebrew Sheol) is not hell, but where the souls of the dead await the resurrection and judgment.