The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chapter 1)

The great work of the Revelator begins with the revealing of a grand picture, introducing us to his portrait constructed from materials long in use by his predecessors—if we were so inclined, we might call this “found” art, art constructed from preexisting components that were already lying around. In his own words, the Revelator hopes to show us in this vision, and the many visions to come, that this is not just his own personal vision, but one brought into the world by his own spiritual instructor:

Revelation 1.1a The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him.

This is not the Revelation of John the Seer, John the Mystic, John the Apostle, John the Presbyter, or John the Revelator. Though we certainly might credit one of those names with the transmission of this vision, creation of this Revelation began with Jesus Christ, which vision—according to our Revelator—was given to Jesus by God. And the vision of Jesus Christ, we know, has been captured and summed up by Jesus’ biographers:

Matthew 4.17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Luke 4.43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

A specific time, according to Mark’s account of Jesus, was fulfilled. The kingdom of the heavens, the kingdom of God, had arrived, in some fashion or another. We must ask ourselves how, in a world where New Jerusalem had not actually descended from the clouds in glory, in a world that had not seen the infamous Son of Man explode into the world of war and politics, Jesus could insist that the kingdom was indeed found within his own person and within his own followers. Because insist Jesus did, sending disciples of his own out into the world to preach that same “gospel of the kingdom,” to preach to the Resurrection of Israel and the Day of Judgment .

To speak of this great day, and to talk of this kingdom, Jesus adopted an inspired vision of God’s own making, a vision burned into the collective consciousness of the Jewish nation, found in Daniel, where the Son of Man—representing the kingdom of the saints, the Jewish nation—descended from the clouds to reign eternally. And while we’ll look at this vision at length in due time, we’ll here simply note that Jesus’ vision of the Son of Man was at odds with the visions of his contemporaries. The Gospel of John is kind enough to give us a window into the conflict between these disparate visions:

John 12.34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

The expectations of Jesus’ generation were notoriously varied, but common to many was the idea that, when God finally did move and raise up His Anointed Servant, it would be to achieve an eternal victory. But Jesus, who often implied and at least did not deny his own anointing, spoke of victory not in the familiar terms of war and power, but in terms of submission, suffering service, and humility, borrowing not only from Daniel to define his vision of Israel as a new nation, but from other books sacred and dear to him—Isaiah, for example, and Ezekiel.

Jesus, often speaking of himself both as the expected Anointed Servant and also as the Son of Man (characters developed by Isaiah and by Ezekiel), showed to Israel a vision altogether different from what they expected, yet essentially and spiritually true to the visions of the prophets, a scripturally comprehensive vision that had taken root in what we call now the Old Testament, a vision that now flourishes in our present book.

Justin Staller - Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com

Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life: They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5.39-40)