“The
Son of Man”
Revelation
1:9-20
October
15, 2023 YouTube
As we turn to our text, this morning, let us, again, remind
ourselves of what the book of Revelation is:
it is the declaration of the victory of Christ given to encourage the Christians
of the first century living under Roman persecution and for the encouragement
of all Christians until the last day.
John continues in the section of the text by – first –
telling his readers who and where he is:
“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and
the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus,”
John is brother to the Christians in the seven churches
that form the semi-circle in Turkey that he is addressing. Again, not that there were only seven
churches in Turkey, but these churches were chosen, and they are addressed in a
semi-circle, which we see beginning in chapter two. John addresses the Christians of these
churches as their brother as a Christian – as one of the family of Christ – his
brothers and sisters who are the Church.
Not only is he their brother, but he is their partner in
three things – he is united with them in three other ways:
John is a partner with them in the tribulation. That is a buzz word for many in the book of
Revelation. What is the tribulation?
Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me
you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I
have overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).
We’re told of Paul and his co-workers: “When they had
preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to
Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples,
encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21-22, ESV).
John is speaking of suffering for Jesus and His Gospel, for
the Kingdom, on a regular basis then and throughout all of Church history.
John partners with them in being a member of the Kingdom –
the Church – and the restored Creation in which all Christians will live. As we see later in the book, Christians are
kings of the Kingdom.
And he partners with them in patient endurance. Paul writes, “The saying is trustworthy,
for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we
will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are
faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13,
ESV).
He patiently suffered for the Gospel of Jesus Christ as
they did as members of the Kingdom as they went through the tribulation. And
this partnership is true of every Christian throughout time and space. If we are Christians, we will share together
in suffering as kings of the Kingdom in patience.
“was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of
God and the testimony of Jesus.”
John was exiled on the island of Patmos for preaching the Gospel
of Jesus and for giving testimony to the truth that Jesus is God the Only Savior. Patmos is an island on the western coast of Turkey
– the western most of the islands west of Turkey. It is a rocky island that had mines on it,
and it was a place where exiles were sent.
It is about thirteen square miles – very small.
“I
was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a
trumpet saying, ‘Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven
churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and
to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.’”
On
the Lord’s Day – Sunday – the Christian Sabbath – John went into a visionary
state, and, behind him, he heard a loud voice – like a trumpet – commanding him
to write everything he sees in a book and to send it to the seven
churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and
to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea
for them to read. The letter was passed from
one to another through the semi-circle that the churches made in Turkey.
Second,
John tells his readers about the Son of Man symbolically.
“Then
I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven
golden lampstands,”
Remember,
we have already seen that the number seven symbolizes completion and
perfection. So, keep the seven golden
lampstands in your mind for a moment.
“and
in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,”
As
we make our way through the book of Revelation, we will see that sections and
symbols of the book of Daniel and Ezekiel are used – in part – because the Jews
would have known these Scriptures, whereas most Romans would not. Remember, Revelation is written in symbols to
keep it being understood by the Romans.
Daniel
records, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was
presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall
not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14, ESV).
Daniel
had a vision, and the Son of Man came down out of heaven on the clouds. We remember that we already saw that Jesus
ascended on the clouds and the angels told His disciples that He would descend
on the clouds. So, the Son of Man is Jesus, the Savior.
The
Son of Man is presented to the Ancient of Days – God the Father – Who gives Him
possession and the holding together of all things in all of Creation. The Son of Man is the Divine Savior and Lord. Everything is His, all glory is His, all
people serve Him, He has authority over all things, and the rule and the
kingdom that He has cannot and will not ever pass away.
John
continues with symbols – describing the Son of Man – in this children’s picture
book we are reading:
“clothed
with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.”
These
are the clothes of a priest:
“These
are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat
of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron
your brother and his sons to serve me as priests” (Exodus 28:4, ESV).
“He
shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his
body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen
turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then
put them on” (Leviticus 16:4, ESV).
The
Son of Man is a priest.
“The
hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow.”
The
Son of Man is Pure, Perfect, Holy.
“His
eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in
a furnace,”
The
Son of Man is a king.
“and
his voice was like the roar of many waters.”
Daniel
records:
“I
lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt
of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face
like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and
legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the
sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were
with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they
fled to hide themselves” (Daniel 10:5-7, ESV).
And
Ezekiel records:
“Then
he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God
of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the
sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw
was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and
just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my
face. As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the
Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory
of the LORD filled the temple” (43:1-5, ESV)
The
Son of Man is the Almighty God.
I
hope we understand that the description of the Son of Man that is given is not literally
the way He looks. The symbols must be
interpreted, and when they are, we see that the Son of Man is a prophet,
priest, and king, Who is also the Almighty God.
This is a comfort to the Christians suffering persecution in the first
century and throughout time and space, because God says that no mere human can
be prophet, priest, and king – a mere human can only be one or two of these,
but not three.
However,
the Son of Man is also the Almighty God, so He can be – for His people – prophet,
priest, and king – the God Who rules His people and gives them His Law, the
prophet Who gives His people His Word, and the priest Who makes the sacrifice
to God to free His people from their sins and reconcile them to God. Is there any greater news in heaven or on
earth? Even if you are being tortured
and even killed?
“In
his right hand he held seven stars,”
Let’s
hold that aside for a moment with the seven golden lampstands.
“from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword,”
The
author of Hebrews explains:
“For
the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and
discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden
from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we
must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13, ESV).
The
Son of Man speaks the Word of God like a two-edged sword. A two-edged sword cuts forward against the
enemy, but it also cuts back against the one who wields it. The Word of God goes out the salvation of the
elect and cuts back for the damnation of those who never believe.
“and his face was like the sun shining in full
strength.”
The Glory of the Son of Man shows forth.
Remember:
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two
tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses
did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with
God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his
face shone, and they were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30, ESV).
“And
after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led
them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and
his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew
17:1-2, ESV).
Third, John interprets the symbols about the Son of Man.
“When
I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”
John
saw the Son of Man in glory and holiness, and he rightly – like other prophets
and apostles – think of Isaiah – understood that he is a sinner, so the only
thing that made sense in the presence of the Son of Man in His transcendent
majesty was to fall down before Him as thought dead, because He understood that
his sin made him worthy of nothing but death and the horrors that follow
unforgiven sin.
“But
he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last,’”
As
a tender Savior – as the Good Shepherd – the Son of Man puts His Hand on John
to comfort him and to let him know that he does not need to fear the Son of Man
but to take comfort and to have hope in Him – because “I am the first and the
last.”
We
will remember – especially – as we looked at the Gospel of John some years ago
– all the “I AM” statements of Jesus and how Jesus said them purposely and one
of the reasons He used them was so His listeners would associate them with the
statement of God to Moses that He is I AM.
In saying, “I AM,” Jesus says He is God.
And here the Son of Man says the same as well as being “the first and
the last” – Who, we will remember, John identifies in verse eight of this
chapter – is God the Father. That does
not mean that the Son of Man is God the Father – the Ancient of Days, because
He is distinct from God the Father – just as the seven spirits, Who we saw is
the Holy Spirit – the Three are the One God.
Jesus’
favorite name for Himself is the “Son of Man.”
He calls Himself the “Son of Man” eighty-one times in the Gospels. Why is it Jesus’ favorite name for Himself? One reason is He is the Savior of His
people. Another is the identification we
saw of the Son of Man being prophet, priest, and king.
We
will remember in the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus is before the Sanhedrin, “But
Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the
living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him,
‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the
high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further
witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy’” (Matthew 26:63-65,
ESV).
They
ask Him if He is “the Christ, the Son of God,” and Jesus answers, “I am the Son
of Man,” and they wail about and say He has blasphemed because He just said He
is God. But it isn’t blasphemy because
it is true.
“and
the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys
of Death and Hades.”
Jesus,
the Son of Man is the Victor and the Controller of Death and Hell. He can lock the door in death – so a person does
not enter the Kingdom, and to open the door to resurrect a person to life in
the Kingdom.
Finally,
John explains the stars and the golden lampstands we are holding in the back of
our minds:
“Write
therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to
take place after this. As for the mystery
of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven
lampstands are the seven churches.”
Note
quickly that the things recorded in the book of Revelation will happen – they
must happen.
The
seven stars stand for the seven angels of the seven churches. What does that mean? The word that is translated “angel” can also
be translated “messenger.” We know in
this case, it cannot mean the being that is called an angel, because God will
condemn some of these in the “letters” to the churches. So, we must go with the other interpretation
– messengers – here, ministers, because ministers do sin, and some are condemned.
And,
again, there is the number seven, which we saw means complete or perfection –
and so forth. So, the seven stars are
the ministers of the seven churches – the minsters of the real, historical
seven churches that will be addressed in the next chapter – and the complete
roster of all the ministers who will ever live throughout time and space.
And the seven lampstands are the seven churches – the real historical
churches that will now be addressed, and every church throughout time and
space.
To the seven churches in Turkey – and all the churches
throughout time and space – and the seven ministers of the seven churches in
Turkey – and all the minsters throughout time and space:
Be comforted and have hope!
Jesus is the Son of Man, the Almighty and Sovereign God Who is carrying
out His Plan, the tender Shepherd, our Prophet, Priest, and King, Who brings
all of those who ever believe savingly in Him into His everlasting Kingdom.
Currently, in the United States, we are not – for the most
part – being flogged and flayed, and stoned, and crucified and beheaded for our
faith – Christians in other countries are – but not in the United States – not
yet. When it does come, remember Who the
Son of Man is and what He has done to save everyone who will believe – and
remember, as we saw last time, Jesus loves you.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Father, Holy Spirit, and Son, we thank You
for identifying Yourself and Your Persons to the seven churches and to all of
us in the very beginning of the book of Revelation. Give us the hope and comfort You intend
through reading and hearing and obeying this book. And may the thanks and the glory be
Yours. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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