The Mending Ministry of John, Message 4

My Great Delight in God's Word

The Mending Ministry of John, Message 4

The Vision of the Glorious Christ

What do you think the book of Revelation is about? I used to think, like what many people do, that it is only about the prophecies of future events. It is so difficult to understand, because it is full of symbols and probably the most complex books in the bible. I previously thought that I did not have to pay much attention to this book, as I did not see how it could be linked to my daily Christian living other than a solemn warning that Christ was coming soon, and if I did not actively follow Jesus, I might be left behind at His second coming and have to appear in the scenes as described in this book. But is this book only talking about future events? Does it really have nothing to do with our Christian walk today? I did learn so many things from this week's message, and would like to share some of them to you.

Revelation of Jesus Christ

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
² who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NKJV)

The first verse of this book describes what this book is about. It is the "Revelation of Jesus Christ." Not only is it about the prophecies of the future events revealed by Jesus Christ, but it is also about Jesus Christ Himself. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, through Jesus Christ and concerning Jesus Christ. As all the other books in the bible, this book is absolutely Christ-centred.
Praise the Lord for His appearing to the apostle John, who had been exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faithful witnessing to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. His appearing must have been very comforting to the apostle, confirming that He had never forsaken him. And all the visions John recorded in this book clearly reveal our glorious Christ.
Interestingly, there is a promise for those who read, hear and keep the words of the things written in this book, with a warning that "the time is near"! Would you like to be blessed? Then read this book, see Christ in it, and obey what He said through the writer.
As brother Watchman Nee wrote, the goal of this book actually is that "more people would know such a Christ so that they would be watchful until the day when they can see Him face to face." So let's see Christ in this book, so that we will not be surprised when we will meet Him face to face!

Vision of the Son of Man

What did the apostle John start with in his letters to the seven churches? He first greeted them (Revelation 1:4-8), and then showed them the vision of Christ (Revelation 1:9-20). It was crucial that all the believers in the particular churches would see Christ. He therefore put this vision before all the specific commendations, warnings and promises to the churches.
What does the vision of Christ tell us about Him?

¹³ and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
¹⁴ His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
¹⁵ His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
¹⁶ He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Revelation 1:13-16 NKJV)

1. Christ as the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands.

"Son of Man" is the title that Jesus used to call Himself most often. Even though He has always been God, He willingly used this title, as seen in the synoptic Gospels. Interestingly, even after His crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation, here He humbly manifests Himself as the Son of Man to the apostle John. He has by no means lost His humanity at the cross, or become only God as the life-giving Spirit at His resurrection.
Praise the Lord. Since His incarnation, Christ has always been both fully God who have all the power to help us and save us, and fully man who can be touched by the feeling of our weaknesses. And this Christ is not Someone far away from us. He is in the midst of the lampstands, signifying the churches. What a comfort to those who are facing difficulties, especially those who are in persecutions or distresses for Christ's sake, that Christ is always the Immanuel, God with us!

2. The golden band around His chest.

According to the vision, Christ is wearing the priestly robe with golden band around His chest. He is a great High Priest who connects us to God and God to us. The golden band signifies His divinity, since gold signifies divine nature. The location of the band around His breast signifies that His priestly ministry for us is motivated by His divine love.
Praise the Lord. The Son of Man is taking care for the churches in His humanity with His divine power and divine love!

3. His white head and hair.

The whiteness of His hair signifies His ancientness. He has been in existence since before the beginning of all things. Even though He does not become old, He is ancient.
Moreover, as a wool is white by nature without the need of colouring or bleaching, Christ is ancient by nature. And as the snow comes down from heaven and pure, Christ is from the heaven and absolutely holy.

4. His eyes like a flame of fire.

He does not have only 2 eyes like us. He has 7 eyes (Revelation 5:6), and His eyes are like a flame of fire. These eyes are for watching, observing, searching, and judging by enlightening. Furthermore, His watching is also for infusing all that He is into our life. His watching is altogether for our ultimate good.

5. His feet like refined fine brass.

His feet signify His walk on earth. His walk was refined during His walk on earth. He completely overcame all the temptations and trials, even His death on the cross. As a result, He came out brightly shining as the brass that has been refined in a furnace.

6. His voice as sound of many waters.

This signifies the seriousness and solemnity of His speaking.

7. The seven stars in His right hand.

The stars represent the leading ones in the churches.
Being a star has nothing to do with any official position in a church. It does not necessarily represent a pastor, an elder or a deacon. We need not seek any of these highly-respected positions. In fact, a star is a faithful servant of the Lord who is fully dedicated himself to God. And the promise here is that Christ is holding him in His right hand.

8. A sharp two-edged sword proceeded from His mouth.

The sharp two-edged sword here is the words of discerning, judging and slaying. During the time of the church's degradation, what we need the most is His dealing with negative persons or things. We do need His judgment so that we will discern the sins hidden in our heart and let Him deal with them.

9. His countenance like the shining sun.

This shining is the judging enlightenment for bringing in the kingdom.

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. (Revelation 1:17-18 NKJV)

Christ reveals Himself in His speaking to John as "the First and the Last." One of the interpretations is that He always finishes what He has started, including our lives. He has never given up on us.
Moreover, He is the One who lives forevermore and holds the keys of Hades and of Death. We therefore need not fear death anymore. Everyone who believes into Him shall also live forevermore. Hallelujah for our glorious Christ and His promise that "everyone who believes in Him, though he may die, he shall live" (John 11:25)!

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: The Mending Ministry of John, week 4.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)