Conquering King

Revelation 1:12-18 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands.  And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest.  His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.  His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.  He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.  I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

The message of Revelation 1 is clear… Jesus wins.

While Revelation is a complex book full of symbolism and imagery, make no mistake about it: the point of it is to show us that Jesus wins.

John’s description of Jesus here, while it is imagery, says something significant about Jesus. It points to his strength and victory. Each part of the description symbolizes a part of the mightiness of his character.

I think that sometimes we have an incomplete view of who Jesus really is.

I think that we have so focused on the grace and love of Jesus (rightly so) that we sometimes miss the power and strength of Jesus. You see, while Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the Sacrificial Lamb, he’s also the Conquering King. Make no mistake about it, Jesus is not weak, and he is not below anyone.

His love put him on a cross.

His grace got him out of the grave.

His power destroyed death and the grave!