August 29 - Son of Man

August 29- Revelation 1:9-20 - Son of Man

I think all of us have an picture in our minds of what Jesus Christ looks like. That picture, though, changes from culture to culture, from region to region, from person to person.

In Revelation, the picture that John translates for us is that of the Risen Christ, the one that comes to him with a vision of what will come. This is the Coming Messiah.

I love this passage with its strong descriptive language.

In Revelation 1:10, John is praying on the Lord's Day. He is lost in the Spirit, completely focused on the conversation he is having with God. All of a sudden, he hears a voice behind him. It is a loud voice, like a trumpet. When he turns around to see the voice, he doesn't just see a man, but he sees an entire panorama.

There were seven golden lampstands and standing among them was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest.

Take a few moments to get that picture in your mind.

His head and hair were white like wool ... like snow and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze and his voice ... his voice! His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

He held seven stars in his right hand and from his mouth came a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12-16)

Now, as well as John knew Jesus when He walked on the earth, this vision nearly overwhelmed the poor man. He feel at his feet as though dead. (Revelation 1:17)

If John was this overwhelmed at seeing a man he had walked with for three years and loved dearly, more than any other person, I sincerely believe that we will not see the man we think we know from pictures hanging on Sunday School walls.

1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "Now we see but a poor reflection, then we shall see face to face."

Though John does his very best to describe the Messiah, the Coming Christ, he can barely put into words a full description of someone he knew very well. We can not begin to imagine the glory that will surround Jesus Christ when He returns from heaven.

John has seen the Messiah and wants us to be confident that we will recognize Him when He comes.