Fear, love, and power
This week's study is on Revelation 1:12-18:
These verses describe John of Patmos's encounter with Jesus in a vision he had. It is a completely overwhelming experience. He is spoken to in the vision by a voice, and when he turns to see who is speaking he's like "OH MY GOD!!" and is overcome with fear.
What he sees is like a human, with incredibly white hair and eyes like fire. His feet were like molten metal. His face was like the sun itself. He held stars in his hand like they were inert pebbles.
God appears to him as pure power and energy. Like magma in a volcano. Like a nuclear explosion, the light of a thousand suns. No matter can contain him without being overwhelmed and consumed. He is like an explosion paused in midair. Even is voice is pure power, overwhelming the sound spectrum like white noise, all noise at once.
John is utterly terrified. It's the sort of terror that is wired into our animal brains, that sort of fight or flight mechanism that freezes us and causes us to lose all control and composure. He might as well have seen a tiger bounding towards him, an avalanche coming down a mountain at him, or a bear rushing him.
We know our weakness compared to God. It's wired into us by our creator. Even if we have never seen him or been told about him, an encounter with him registers with us instantly that we are nothing next to him. A lot of the church portrays Jesus as a sort of cosmic Mr Rogers, showing up to church in a fuzzy cardigan sweater and putting his slippers on to sip a cup of tea and share some crackers and grape juice with us before flitting off to the land of make believe. But God is not like that in person.
When northern Europe was converted to Christianity, they understood Jesus as a sort of warrior Christ. He was seen as a conqueror, an undefeated warrior who died honorably and still managed to live and win. And that's how he introduces himself to John.
It's no weak Jesus that says "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." He is the living one. Even in death he is alive. He is literally undefeatable. He cannot be destroyed or made to submit to another. And he holds the keys of death and hell, which he won through his overwhelming power. He took them as if he'd beaten the devil down with his own fists and snatched them from his whimpering, cowering, defeated hands. Jesus, in his eternal power, is forever victorious.
His victory is our victory because he loves us. He doesn't tell John to get his life together or he'll burn. He tells him not to be afraid, and then places his deadly star-filled hand on him. Think about that for a minute. Jesus is pure holiness and pure power in this vision. If anyone dared to touch him, they'd die. They might even die by being near him! He's like a nuclear reactor in human form. But Jesus makes the first move. He puts his hand on John and it's okay. Nobody gets hurt. He's on our side. It's his love that allows that connection.
Take some time and think about this mystery. God, the eternal champion, who deserves and creates perfection, loves us, these weak, twisted, imperfect creatures. He loves us fully and completely. Our imperfection and its eternal consequences are defeated before him. He is on our side. His hand is on us and we are spared. Nothing can stand before him, and yet he invites us to join him. You could think about it all day and not be able to explain it, but it's true all the same.
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
These verses describe John of Patmos's encounter with Jesus in a vision he had. It is a completely overwhelming experience. He is spoken to in the vision by a voice, and when he turns to see who is speaking he's like "OH MY GOD!!" and is overcome with fear.
What he sees is like a human, with incredibly white hair and eyes like fire. His feet were like molten metal. His face was like the sun itself. He held stars in his hand like they were inert pebbles.
God appears to him as pure power and energy. Like magma in a volcano. Like a nuclear explosion, the light of a thousand suns. No matter can contain him without being overwhelmed and consumed. He is like an explosion paused in midair. Even is voice is pure power, overwhelming the sound spectrum like white noise, all noise at once.
John is utterly terrified. It's the sort of terror that is wired into our animal brains, that sort of fight or flight mechanism that freezes us and causes us to lose all control and composure. He might as well have seen a tiger bounding towards him, an avalanche coming down a mountain at him, or a bear rushing him.
We know our weakness compared to God. It's wired into us by our creator. Even if we have never seen him or been told about him, an encounter with him registers with us instantly that we are nothing next to him. A lot of the church portrays Jesus as a sort of cosmic Mr Rogers, showing up to church in a fuzzy cardigan sweater and putting his slippers on to sip a cup of tea and share some crackers and grape juice with us before flitting off to the land of make believe. But God is not like that in person.
When northern Europe was converted to Christianity, they understood Jesus as a sort of warrior Christ. He was seen as a conqueror, an undefeated warrior who died honorably and still managed to live and win. And that's how he introduces himself to John.
It's no weak Jesus that says "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." He is the living one. Even in death he is alive. He is literally undefeatable. He cannot be destroyed or made to submit to another. And he holds the keys of death and hell, which he won through his overwhelming power. He took them as if he'd beaten the devil down with his own fists and snatched them from his whimpering, cowering, defeated hands. Jesus, in his eternal power, is forever victorious.
His victory is our victory because he loves us. He doesn't tell John to get his life together or he'll burn. He tells him not to be afraid, and then places his deadly star-filled hand on him. Think about that for a minute. Jesus is pure holiness and pure power in this vision. If anyone dared to touch him, they'd die. They might even die by being near him! He's like a nuclear reactor in human form. But Jesus makes the first move. He puts his hand on John and it's okay. Nobody gets hurt. He's on our side. It's his love that allows that connection.
Take some time and think about this mystery. God, the eternal champion, who deserves and creates perfection, loves us, these weak, twisted, imperfect creatures. He loves us fully and completely. Our imperfection and its eternal consequences are defeated before him. He is on our side. His hand is on us and we are spared. Nothing can stand before him, and yet he invites us to join him. You could think about it all day and not be able to explain it, but it's true all the same.
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