The Cosmic Christ
Revelation 1.10-20
This book is called the revelation of Jesus Christ. And the first revelation is Jesus Himself, who appears in glory to John on the isle of Patmos. We should be able to immediately understand that Jesus is the central figure in the book of Revelation, though there are interpretations of this book that do not make Him central. This is a revelation of Jesus and it is also a revelation from Jesus. Jesus reveals Himself to bring a message to the churches.
John sees a vision of the glorified Christ. This is the same Jesus John walked beside on the dusty roads of Palestine for three years. This Jesus was crucified and buried. He was raised and was then taken up into heaven. John sees Jesus as He is now. Jesus did not stay on the earth after His resurrection and He made it clear to the disciples that He had to return to the Father and that it was to their advantage that He was going back to Heaven. The book of Revelation will show the Church why Jesus is reigning. In fact, the heavenly reign of Christ is the theme and the central revelation of the book of Revelation. In this vision of Christ, John describes what he saw and what he heard. He saw the glory of Christ in heaven and describes His appearance. Each aspect of His glorious appearance reveals some attribute about His heavenly reign that the churches need to understand.
And John also records what he heard from Jesus. Jesus has something to say about Himself and then He has something to say to the Churches. The church in the world is the primary concern of the glorified Christ, which is why the first thing Jesus does in the book of Revelation is speak to the churches. This vision of Christ and the messages to the Churches go together. You cannot separate Christ from the Church. The aspects of Christ’s glory described in the vision are repeated to the churches. There are specific characteristics of the glorified Christ that the churches need to see and contemplate.
John the Apostle saw this vision while he was exiled. There was a period of tribulation that was coming to the churches, and the last remaining Apostle was already suffering because of his testimony about Christ. This gives us a clue about the purpose for this book: Jesus wants to strengthen the churches to prepare them to endure tribulation. This book has a ministry to suffering saints. What do suffering saints, or those who are about to suffer, need to see and hear? The most important vision is Christ in His glory. He has been exalted to bring His people through a hostile world order so that they can reign with Him in the New Creation that is coming. The people of God can make it through anything in this world if they know that Jesus is reigning in heaven.
The fact that Jesus had to be exalted tells us something of what we are up against. Without an exalted Christ, we simply would not stand a chance in this world. No one is making it into the New Creation without help from the exalted Christ. And even though we must be fully invested in the good fight of faith, we must also understand that more is required than just our best effort. Being followers of Jesus in a world that is opposed to God will require some help from heaven. And Jesus is there to give us the help we need. It remains for us to see what Jesus can do for us and appropriate the grace that only the cosmic Christ can give us as we sojourn to the New Creation.
This vision of Christ that John saw will help us make it, if we will just see and hear. First, we need to see the revelation of Christ’s reign. Then, we need to hear the meaning of His reign.
See the Revelation of Christ’s Reign
Revealed in Prophecies
What John saw here is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Out of the people of Israel would come a man who would rule all the nations. As it says in the second Psalm:
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel’” (Psalm 2.7-9).
Another Messianic Psalm that is often quoted in the New Testament is Psalm 110:
“The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies” (Psa. 110.1-2)!
Both of those Messianic Psalms are important to understanding the message of the book of Revelation. God has made Jesus the ruler of the world despite the world’s rebellion against God. The world does not submit to God and therefore it will not submit to the rule of God’s Christ. But this does not matter. God has installed His King on Zion, which is a picture of Christ’s ascension into heaven. And there is nothing that the wicked world can do about Christ’s reign, except rage against God in rebellion. The book of Revelation shows us that Christ is indeed reigning in the midst of His enemies. Eventually Christ’s enemies will be utterly humiliated and all their rebellious plans will come to nothing.
Another important Messianic prophecy is found in Isaiah:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isa. 9.6-7).
But perhaps the most direct link to Revelation is found in the vision of the Son of Man in the book of Daniel:
“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” (Dan. 7.13-14).
Notice that both these prophecies state that the reign of Christ will be universal and eternal. The prophecy in Daniel is a picture of Christ ascending into heaven and being received before the throne of God, which is the very same vision John saw in Revelation 4-5.
Isaiah picks up on another important messianic theme: the Christ would come from David’s line.
David’s Throne
God would install a King who would rule the world. This King would come from David’s royal line, in fulfillment of God’s promise to set one of David’s descendants on his throne forever. Here is what God promised King David:
“Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam 7.11-13).
This prophecy could not have been fulfilled by David’s son Solomon because his kingdom was not established forever. The first time the Gospel was preached on the Day of Pentecost, Peter alluded to this promise to David and the fulfillment in the resurrection and exaltation of Christ:
“Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, band of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing” (Acts 2.30-33).
The events on Pentecost and everything that followed was made possible because of Jesus’ heavenly reign. In fact, the Day of Pentecost, with the coming of the Spirit and the birth of the Church, could not have happened without an exalted Christ. The very existence of the Church in the world is evidence that Jesus has been exalted.
The Ascension
The Gospel writers record the fact of Christ’s ascension into Heaven and that there were many who witnessed this event. Here are the accounts of Christ’s ascension:
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mk 16.19).
“And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Lk. 24.50-51).
“And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1.9).
The ascension and exaltation of Christ into heaven is a crucial aspect of the Gospel. The work that Jesus had done on earth would not have been complete until He returned bodily into heaven and was received by God the Father. In some sense the work that Jesus is doing now in heaven is the second phase in God’s purpose. Jesus had to descend from heaven to earth and then ascend from earth to heaven for the work of redemption to be complete. Jesus’ words from the Cross were “it is finished.” And that meant His sacrifice was complete. The primary reason for His incarnation was to become the sacrifice for our sins. But after making this sacrifice, He had to return to heaven and the presence of God before the power and effectiveness of that sacrifice could be fully realized. That is why Jesus made it clear that He would not remain with the disciples physically. He had to go back to heaven so that the full power of what He had done on earth could be appropriated by believers. Jesus can do more in heaven than He could do on earth. The book of Revelation is showing us what Jesus is doing now that He has ascended.
The ascension of Christ is always connected to the preaching of the Gospel. In other words, the Apostles were sent to preach the Gospel because Jesus has been exalted as Lord. The effectiveness of the preaching can also be traced back to the fact that Jesus is exalted. The Gospel and the existence of the Church cannot be explained by human energy or ingenuity.
The Apostles continued to teach about the importance of Christ’s exaltation and reign. Perhaps the most powerful expression of this doctrine is in Paul’s affirmation in Philippians:
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2.9-11).
Another doctrinal exposition of Christ’s exaltation is in the letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Paul is speaking about the hope of the resurrection of the dead and connects this future event to Christ’s exaltation into heaven:
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15.24-28).
Until the time of the End, God has given Christ all rule and authority. (The only personality in the universe who is not in subjection to Christ is God the Father.) God has put everything into the hands of Christ until the time comes when all enemies, including death itself, will be destroyed and the Kingdom of God will be all that remains. At this present time, the enemies of God and Christ are still “at large” in the world. But the book of Revelation shows us that Christ has indeed been exalted and that eventually every personality in the universe must acknowledge this reality. We must understand that even though Jesus is reigning in heaven, not every personality on the earth, and certainly not the Powers of Darkness, are in willing subjection to Christ’s reign. Eventually Christ will consummate His reign and all the enemies will be permanently removed and will not trouble the New Creation.
Hear the Meaning of His Reign
Glorious Attributes
Every detail of John’s vision is meant to show us the different aspects or attributes of Christ’s glory:
- John sees a son of man, that is, a human being. Jesus is a glorified man.
- He is standing among the seven lampstands, which represent the seven churches of Asia. The exalted Christ is omnipresent. He can be among all the churches at the same time because He is in heaven.
- He is dressed as a king and a priest.
- His bright, shining appearance depicts absolute purity and holiness.
- He is omniscience, seeing everything on earth.
- He is omnipotent, possessing all power. His word is powerful, like a two-edged sword or a mighty cataract. He is holding seven stars in His hand.
- To get to His exalted position, He had to pass through many fiery trials on the earth and His feet are glowing like bronze in a furnace. These feet will eventually trample all those who oppose His rule.
This vision of Christ was given to John while he was still upon the earth. This is a personal vision of Christ and is meant to show Christ’s heavenly glory in relation to the Church on the earth.
Later, in chapters 4-5, John will be taken up into the heavenly realm and will again see Christ exalted. But in those later chapters the vision there is meant to show Christ’s exaltation in relation to the world and what will transpire in the world because Christ is reigning in heaven. In those later visions, we see that Jesus is exalted to judge the wicked world. But in this first vision of Christ we see that He is exalted for the sake of the Church in the world.
Reassuring Words
John fell before Jesus in a faint. But Jesus comforts and strengthens His disciple, just as He had done many times before during the days of His flesh. To encourage His disciple Jesus reminds John of two truths: first, He is preeminent in all things. John might have felt lonely and forgotten there on Patmos. We often feel as if we are insignificant in the world, as if our lives don’t really matter. But our Lord is the most significant person in the universe. And He has not forsaken or forgotten about us.
Secondly, Jesus reminds John that He has defeated Death itself, the greatest enemy mankind has ever faced. If Jesus has defeated death then there is really nothing for us to fear. The worst thing that could happen to us while in this world is death, but physical death only brings us into the presence of the Lord. The person who can defeat death is Lord of the universe. What person is there who has done what Jesus has done?
Jesus is without equal, on earth or in heaven. Just as Jesus was there to strengthen His Apostle, Jesus is there for all His people all the time. There is no place we can go where Jesus is not with us. There is no situation in which we find ourselves where Jesus is not able to help us overcome the adversity. The Church must always think of Jesus as a living presence, not a dead hero or martyr. He is with us always, even until the end of the Age.
The Implications of this Vision
A Glorified Man. We should remember that what John saw on Patmos was a glorified man. Jesus did not cease to be a man when He rose from the dead and returned to heaven. The fact that Jesus is a man qualifies Him to serve in heaven as our great high priest, interceding for us in the presence of God. Revelation’s visions depict what the book of Hebrews teaches doctrinally:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4.14-16).
Jesus is the first of a new kind of man. He is the beginning of the New Creation and the New Humanity. This vision was given to John to allow him and the rest of the Church a glimpse of the future. As Jesus is now is what all those in Christ shall be. We will share His glory and reign with Him in the New Creation. There are hints and whispers of this all through the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul:
“The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15.47-49).
The hope of every believer in Christ is to be like Christ in our character. But this spiritual likeness will even spill over into the glory of the resurrection body.
The people of God are in a lowly position now. This world is not under our dominion. This is not our Age, it is an evil Age. But our time is coming when we will reign and we know that because of where Jesus is now. Jesus had to pass through a time of suffering to enter His glory and if we suffer with Him we will also reign with Him.
He has Overcome. This vision of Christ shows us that Jesus has already overcome and this makes it possible for us to overcome as well. Our Captain has gone before us and has won the decisive victory. The Gospel is the declaration of that victory.
In the book of Revelation, we get to see the Victor in His glory. Christ has won and everyone who is with Christ will also overcome. Those who oppose Christ will not prosper. It is now our chance to choose sides. The future is not in doubt.
Of course, if we look around us we see the enemies of God and His Christ everywhere. We are living in between the Ages. The victory of Christ is not apparent but must be received by faith. This vision of the exalted Christ is meant to strengthen our faith. We walk by faith not by sight. Someday Christ will appear to the whole world as He appeared to John on Patmos. Every eye will see His glory and every knee will bow to Him. But as the saints make their journey through the world, it is our faith in Christ’s victory that enables us to overcome the present world order. “And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
No Limit to His Power. Jesus is at the zenith of His power. He cannot rise any higher. There is no place on earth where He does not reign. He is Lord of every nation. The fact that some nations do not know this does not change the fact. The fact that the nations do not acknowledge His Lordship does not change the truth.
The Lord has commanded His Church to declare to all the nations that Jesus is reigning. Being a Christian means confessing, or acknowledging, that Jesus is the Lord. We do not make Him our Lord, God has already made Him our Lord. (It is a false dichotomy to separate Jesus as Savior from Jesus as Lord. We cannot take Him as our Savior without also submitting to Him as Lord.)
We must acknowledge this reality, which means that we obey Christ. We can either confess Him as Lord willingly now, and be saved, or we will be forced to bow to Him as His enemies.
Not only does Jesus reign over men and nations, He also reigns over the spiritual Powers. There are principalities and powers who rule over the nations. And Jesus reigns over these spiritual powers. Jesus reigns over all our enemies, including Satan. This book of Revelation will reveal what we are up against in the world. The only safety is in Christ, who is ruling over all these lofty, hostile Powers. Jesus can save us because He is the Lord. He has been exalted into heaven to save us. This means that there is nothing that comes against the Saints that does not have to submit to Jesus. Stay with Jesus and you will win!
We live in a world where there are two competing Powers. The book of Revelation makes this clear to us. We tend to overestimate ourselves and underestimate the power of the Enemy who is against us. The Devil still has power on the earth. He is still the god of this world who is working his will in those who are alienated from God.
No one can be neutral or remove themselves from Satan’s influence. We must choose sides. If we are not with Christ then we are under Satan’s dominion. But with Christ we are invincible.
“We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8.37-39).
