The One All Eyes Shall See (Revelation 1:4-20)                                        2009.12.06                                 Pastor Richard Yu

        That which enables us to keep the faith is our firm conviction in who Christ Jesus is and what he does, and the eager expectation of his return. In Revelation, before John relates what he saw as to what is about to soon takes place, he uses a vivid picture describing who Jesus (the main character of the unfolding drama) is, what has he done, and how is he going to come again.

       Jesus is (1) A Faithful Witness. I believe this is an allusion to Psalm 89, a psalm that recounts God’s goodness to his people and his faithful promise to David, that David’s throne will be established forever like the moon – “the faithful witness in the sky.” There the moon symbolizes the consistent, lasting witness to the faithfulness of God. And here, Jesus is like the moon in the night sky reflecting the light of the sun, bearing everlasting witness to God’s glory and goodness.         Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus, listen to what Jesus says, and watch what he does. Jesus is God’s full self-disclosure; and he expresses what God is like ultimately by willingly giving his life away on the cross to redeem the world.

        (2) Jesus is called the Firstborn of the Dead. He is the first one who comes back from the dead with a resurrection body. In all of history only Jesus was raised to eternal, incorruptible glory (cf. 1:18). Again, this is an allusion to Ps. 89:27-29, where David is appointed as God’s firstborn and this privilege extends to David’s descendants all the way down to Jesus the Messiah. By virtue of his death and resurrection, he obtained the privileged position to guarantee that all those who pass with him through death will gain the eternal life.

        (3) Jesus is the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Again, we realize that this is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy (ch. 7), and an allusion to Psalm 89. There are many rulers and leaders and kings of this world who claim to be sovereign, but Jesus exercises ultimate authority over them all. Jesus was given all authority on earth and in heaven and under the earth. 

        Jesus is now already the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Although there is still opposition to his rule, one day there won’t be any. All knees shall bow and all tongues shall confess that he is Lord.

        Using this threefold description John intends to encourage and sustain believers who are about to enter severe persecution for their faith in Jesus. Describing Jesus this way would re-enforce their confidence that Jesus has gone before them and opened the way through death to victory. Now when you and I are facing persecution or hardship, it is important for us to remember that Jesus is in charge, he is in control, he is sovereign over every situation in life and history, and he guarantees our eternal life. There’s comfort and strength in knowing this.

        John goes on to describe what Jesus does through a doxology: (1) He loves us. John tells his readers that Jesus presently loves them. The love of Christ for his people is a continuing relationship which at one point explicitly expressed on a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem.

        This continuing loving relationship is still true for us today. Jesus loves us, in the present tense, despite our continued rebellion and sin. His love establishes our identity. He loves us not because of what we do, even in spite of what we do. Paul says that God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) There’s nothing we can do to get God love us more than he already does. And there’s nothing we can do to make him love us less. This is the truth we need to allow to sink deep into our minds and hearts and souls, dwell on this, embrace this, then our lives can be transformed.

        (2) He has freed us from our sins by His blood. The ultimate proof of Jesus’ love for us is that he frees us from our sins by his blood – with his own life. The greatest demonstration of the love of Christ is his death on the cross.

        It is true that many Christians continue to struggle with all kinds of sins, such as alcohol or substance dependency, selfish attitudes, sexual temptations, bitterness in the heart or a malicious tongue. But the blood of Christ gives us the hope and the power to break the chain of sin – if we are convinced that he has already set us free and are willing to turn the control of our lives over to him.

        (3) He has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. On Mt Sinai God had promised to those whom he had brought out from Egypt that if they would obey his voice and keep his commandments, then he would establish them as “a kingdom of priest and a holy nation.” (Ex. 19:5-6; Is. 61:6) But now, by means of his death Jesus constituted his followers a kingdom.

        God’s call for the early church is a continuation of his call for the Israelites, to live as a people of God to demonstrate to the world his goodness. The primary role of a priest is to bridge the alienation between God and the people, and to lead the people worship the one true God.

        Today, all believers are called to this function of priesthood. It’s a high and holy calling, given to us by Christ himself. We are to reach out to others in their lostness and pain; explain to them the sacrifice that Jesus has made on their behalf; share with them the fact that God loves them and longs to draw them to himself. We are to point the world to the God who truly worth our worship.

        Finally, John tells his readers to look out for Jesus’ imminent return. “Look! He is coming . . .” It is a command to take a close look and be watchful.  John’s first readers would have understood this “coming” as a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy (cf. Dan. 7:13-14), where Daniel was describing the coming of the Messiah, whom God will send in the future to establish his rule on earth. John intents to assure the believers that the King has already come in power and glory; and this coming is continuing every day, until one day he appears before all eyes and finally bring about the complete establishment of God’s kingdom among men.     

         John knows that if his readers can just see the full reality of their present circumstance, then they will have courage to overcome the powers of the age, and they will then follow Jesus Christ with unreserved and unwavering loyalty.