Revelation 1:12-20

Revelation 1:12-20

Read these verses over again. Go on, once more.
You can't read them often enough.

Seven is the perfect number, a complete number. So seven lampstands, which are the seven churches, represent the complete church. The glorious Lord Jesus Christ is with, in the midst of, his church.
How can we be downcast? What shall we fear? The Lord is with us.
[Seven here is not about the seven churches of Asia - the use of this phrase in 1:4 is probably the only 'real' number, i.e. non-symbolic number, in the whole book.]

Son of Man is a designation the Lord Jesus uses often of himself. I think its use comes from Daniel 7. In this context when we read 'one like a son of man', I think the emphasis falls on the likeness of the Lord Jesus to humans. If we had been alive and seen the Lord Jesus we would have seen arms and legs, a head, a body - a human. What John sees is the glorious Lord Jesus, but he is like a human, in human form. The incarnation doesn't end with the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. His body is raised from the tomb. There is a human in heaven.
Yes, the Lord is with us.

The Lord Jesus is seen by John in purity and power. He is without sin or any kind of failure and he is the one who exercises justice with the sword of justice.
It keeps getting better, he was dead and now is alive and will never die again. He holds authority over death and hell. He is the one who can be depended upon.

We will read later in Revelation of John falling before a heavenly messenger, but this is the only time such prostration is not corrected. It is entirely correct to fall on your face before the Lord Jesus.

The seven angels of the churches, a perfect number of messengers to the churches. It could be the teachers/preachers in the church, or could be a perfection of God's message to the church. The point in this passage is that the seven stars are in the hand of the Lord Jesus. The message of God to the church is in Christ's hand, and nowhere else!

It really is all about Jesus.

Go on, read it again, it will do you good.