Revelation 1:4-18 — John, who saw the Word of life in the flesh, tells about seeing our glorified Lord in Heaven!
Here is how to read and respond to the Book of Revelation: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3). “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7). We must obey our glorified Lord!
John began his first epistle by stating, “we have looked upon…the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). Day after day he had been around Jesus in His normal body. Then one day he got to see Jesus in a glorified state on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2; Luke 9:29). He also saw Jesus after His body had been lashed and crucified. And several days after that awfulness, he saw Jesus in His resurrected body. Now in verses 13-16 of Revelation 1 John describes Jesus as he saw Him in an entirely different state. I wonder how that compares with what Stephen saw before he died (Acts 7:55).
Notice in verses 16 and 17 that Jesus touched John with His right hand…the one in which He held seven stars. I don’t know that there’s any significance to that; I just find it interesting.
Hang in there! our glorified Lord is with you and will help you!
Sometimes I get so tired of life. Oh, I’m not interested in dying, don’t get me wrong! Maybe what I mean is that being a Christian gets a trifle wearisome at times. No, no; I wouldn’t for a moment consider any other alternative. But we must face this: always pursuing what is right sooner or later, occasionally or frequently, grinds on our flesh.
You know how it goes. Be a servant. Turn the other cheek. Think godly. Live for the King. Seek first His ways and kingdom. Shun materialism. Flee youthful lusts. Read right. Watch your music. Don’t dress that way. Beware of where you go. Stand for the truth. Don’t be afraid of being mocked. Suffer loss. And so goes the list. Yup, it all gets a little tiresome and a tad burdensome once in a while.
But look at Jesus in today’s lesson! Awesome?! Yes, indeed! But was that the way it always was for even Him? No, indeed! Jesus, who found nourishment and delight in doing His Father’s will (John 4:4; 6:38), at least once quailed in the flesh before what that will included for Him (Matthew 26:39). Nevertheless, He faithfully pursued the will of the Father.
Excerpted from The Glorified Christ
Are you bound? Our glorified Lord can set you free!
Chains. How effectively they keep prisoners secured. Rattled by hapless captives, their oppressive clanking echoes through history and literature. But the most oppressive chains produce neither clank nor rattle. I have in mind chains such as bitterness, anger, fear, suspicion, self, and habits. Do you find yourself impaired and restrained by chains such as those? Maybe you despair of ever being free. About the time you think you have finally shed them for good… Clink, clank!
The bad news is that these chains will effectively resist all your efforts against them. Your puny little toolbox simply hasn’t the tools for the job. And even you had the right tool, your pitiful little muscles wouldn’t be able to work it successfully. My friend, what you need is someone to come along and cut those chains off of you.
Surely one of the most frightening and disheartening prospects a captive could face is the possibility that his deliverer will be unable to set him free. Is my anger, bitterness, and suspicion too strong for Jesus? Could it be that Jesus will meet His match in the chains of my own self?
Well…what do you suppose were the strongest chains that ever bound a person? For the sake of the point waiting to be made here, let’s call them death and hell. And they held Jesus (Acts 2:31). Surely this was Satan’s grandest hour. By all appearances, he had all the advantages. If he could keep Jesus, he could declare himself the new, true Almighty. But Jesus was victorious, and that not just barely — Jesus overcame with power and great glory. His victory was so complete and so decisive that when He rid Himself of those restraints, He brought their keys along with Him (Revelation 1:18)!
That’s more good news! Since He could free Himself from such chains, then He has what it takes to free me from any chains that hold me. Do you understand this?! He has the keys to the locks on my chains! Yours too! He can unlock us from bondage to sin, self, anger, fear, suspicion, bitterness, habits, and all such things.
Excerpted from Christ, the Almighty Deliverer
(Just so you know, Our Glorified Lord is the title of the December 2, 2018, Sunday School lesson in the CLP youth and adult quarterlies — and possibly in others as well.)
Youth Pages to Be Republished!
Beginning in the early 1990s and into the first decade of the new millennium, I wrote the “Applications for Youth” portion of the youth Sunday School quarterly published by CLP. The preceding excerpts are from two such “youth pages” (as they were known).
I have CLP’s permission to publish my material on my own as well.
I calculate I have enough to publish one 80-page ebook every five weeks for a year. I am to start work on this project this week. Please click here for more details: Boost Mark Roth in His Drive to Republish the “Youth Pages”. Thank you!
