Finale Revelation and Imagination Daily Devotional- 6
by David Joynt on June 11, 2021
Get Real November 16 Devotional
November 16, 2024
REVELATION 1:4-6, 12-16| 4 John 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 who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
Revelation unites the historical Jesus, the Risen Lord, and the returning Judge and King. John’s heavenly vision is Trinitarian, for grace and peace came from, “the one who was, and is, and is to come,” the Creator; and from the seven spirits, an oblique reference to the Holy Spirit since seven is a perfect number, and finally from Jesus Christ the resurrected ruler, and King of Kings.
In verses 12-16 John sees Jesus, the Son of Man, with the seven golden lampstands, which symbolize the seven churches of Asia minor. He has a royal robe and is described in terms of awe and wonder, shining like the sun, glorious and powerful. His words are like a sword of irresistible judgement. The persecuted Christians often who read the book, or have it read to them, as was often the case, can trust that their Lord and Champion, their Redeemer and Creator, is the ultimate power in history and the guarantor of the future.
If someone asked you who Jesus was beyond being a great teacher, what would you say?
