Reflections from Life
I remember the joy with which I consumed the Word of God as a teenager. It was new, it was exciting, and it was instructive. I also remember the important role that Bible reading plans played in helping me get through all sixty-six books and in teaching me about the importance of consistent Bible reading. Even so, one downside of those plans (for me) was that I was unable to linger over individual passages because of the need to press on to others.
Add to this challenge the time and care required for me to get my head around the vast landscape of Christian theology, and I found I had to leave some areas unattended. For these reasons, I have not developed certain aspects of my eschatology compared to other branches of theology. However, the fact remains that the all-wise God has chosen to include apocalyptic literature in His Word (e.g., Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Revelation). Consequently, I cannot rightly disregard even those aspects of Scripture if I would be faithful to it in its entirety.
In recent months, I have been excited about the book of Revelation. Undoubtedly, this interest has resulted partly from what I have been reading and listening to. Some years ago, I promised myself I would read some good fiction upon finishing my dissertation. Not wanting to make a liar of myself, I began reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, a story replete with a creation mythos, angelic-like beings, and wars between the great powers of the world. While its narrative form can be challenging, it offers great riches to those who invest themselves in it. I had no idea this decision would inspire my present interest for Revelation. Its form, like that of The Silmarillion, can be difficult, to say nothing of its strange images (e.g., horses, dragons, and beasts), but it can be infinitely rewarding to those who journey through it.
Additionally, I have found myself listening through Andrew Peterson’s music catalog. While his songs have long inspired me, they have recently resonated with me in a special way. As anyone familiar with his music knows, the themes of Revelation make frequent appearance. “Is He Worthy?” is perhaps the most well-known example; it tells of the Lion of Judah and Root of David (5:5; cf. 3:7; 22:16) Who is worthy to open the scroll (5:1–9). I could also mention “Carry the Fire,” which testifies to the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7–10) and the new Jerusalem that descends from heaven (3:12; 21:10–11), among numerous others.
So, partly resulting from the literature and music in my life, I have found myself reflecting broadly on the themes of Revelation (and other apocalyptic books in the Bible). But in this article, I aim only to capture something of the wonder and enchantment of Revelation’s depiction of Jesus. Readers familiar with the Gospel accounts are accustomed to imagining Him in terms of the baby in a manger or the man on a cross. Certainly, such portraits are true and worthwhile. But Revelation invites us to broaden our understanding of Him considerably.[1]
Portraits from Revelation
Revelation 1 pictures Jesus as One like a Son of Man (1:13) coming on the clouds (1:7; cf. Daniel 7:13; Acts 7:56). He has hair like white wool, eyes like fiery flame, a face like the shining sun, and feet like glowing bronze (1:14–16; cf. 2:18; 19:12). He wears a robe that reaches to His feet with a golden sash around His chest (1:13), and in His right hand He holds seven stars (1:16), the seven angels of the seven churches (1:20). When He speaks, His voice is like the sound of a trumpet (1:10; cf. 4:1) and loud thunder (1:15). Out of His mouth comes a sharp, two-edged sword (1:16), an instrument of both revelation and judgment. He reveals that He is the Living One because He is the firstborn from the dead (1:5; cf. 2:8) Who has a conquered death, lives forevermore, and holds the keys over Death and Hades (1:18; cf. Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27, 31), that is, over the rider of the ashen horse and his followers (6:8; cf. 20:13–14).
Revelation 12 pictures Jesus as the male child Who is born to the woman Israel (cf. Genesis 37:9) clothed with the sun and crowned with twelve stars, under whose feet is the moon (12:1–2). The great red dragon Satan seeks to devour the child (12:3–4, 9), but God protects Him Who would rule all nations (12:5) and His mother who flees into the wilderness (12:6). This passage is nothing less than the Christmas story of Revelation.
Revelation 14, continuing the imagery of Revelation 1, also pictures Jesus as One like a Son of Man sitting on the clouds with a golden crown on His head (14:14; cf. 19:12). But rather than having a sharp sword in His mouth, He has a sharp sickle in His hand with which He reaps (judges) the earth (14:15–16). As a part of this judgment, an angel appears, also with a sharp sickle, who gathers the ripened grape clusters (14:17–18). Then, the wrathful God presses the clusters into wine, which spills like blood (14:19–20; cf. 19:15), and causes those who worship the beast (14:9–10) and belong to Babylon (16:19) to drink it. Again, God’s wrath is pictured over the subsequent chapters as seven deadly plagues or seven golden bowls (15–18).
Revelation 19 pictures Jesus as the rider on a white horse Who appears in heaven. He is called Faithful and True (19:11; cf. 3:14; 21:5; 22:6); again, He is called the Word of God (19:13). As in Revelation 1, He has fire in His eyes and diadems on His head (19:12), and He is wearing a robe (19:13), except that here we learn the robe has been dipped in blood (cf. 7:14) because He is the Lamb of God Who was slain (5:6, 9, 12; 13:8; cf. 12:11). Following Him are the armies of heaven, also on white horses, clothed in fine linen that is white and pure (19:14).
Whereas Revelation 14 pictures Him with a sickle, Revelation 19 renews the imagery of the sword. From His mouth comes a sharp sword (19:15; cf. 1:16; 2:12, 16) with which He judges the nations and wages war against the beast, the false prophet, and the ten kings and their armies (17:12–13; 19:11, 19–20; cf. 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:8). On the Lamb’s robe and thigh is written a name: King of kings and Lord of lords (19:16; cf. 15:3; 17:14; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:1–3; 1 Timothy 6:15). He thus rules over His enemies (cf. 1:5; 15:3; 17:14) with a rod of iron (19:15; cf. 2:27; 12:5), and He treads the wine press of God’s wrath (19:15), killing His enemies with the sword of His mouth and preparing a great supper for the birds of midheaven who feast upon their flesh (19:17–21).
Conclusion
Such portraits present a Jesus Who is equal parts strange and sublime. Yet this Jesus has loved us and has freed us from our sins by His blood (1:5)—believers from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (5:9). He was pierced so that we might become a kingdom of priests who serve God the Father (1:6–7; cf. Zechariah 12:10). He has overcome the great red dragon, the accuser of the brethren (12:3, 9–11). He invites us to wear fine linen that is bright and pure to the marriage supper of the Lamb (19:7–9). He is the shepherd Who guides us to the river of the waters of life (22:1; cf. 7:17).
While the strange and the sublime may scare us, they are the doorways through which we may experience the wonder and enchantment of God’s Word—indeed, of God’s Son. Yes, Jesus is the baby in the manger and the man upon the cross; but He is also the Son of Man descending from the clouds on a white horse with a sword in His mouth, a sickle in His hand, and the armies of heaven at His rear. We need the whole picture of Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels and the Jesus of Revelation. Incredibly, this Jesus invites us to be counted among the blessed:
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. . . . Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. . . . Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. . . . Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city (1:3; 19:9; 22:7; 22:14).
No wonder this Jesus is given blessing, dominion, glory, honor, might, power, riches, thanksgiving, and wisdom forever and ever (1:6; 5:12–13; 7:12). No wonder our great God is given a fourfold hallelujah from the multitude in heaven (19:1–6). Hallelujah and Amen.
[1] This reflection is not intended to present the full scope of interpretation of the passages with which I interact. I recognize many of them likely mean more than what I have suggested but (to the extent my interpretations are correct) not less than what I have suggested.
December 10, 2024
This was a great reflection! I would love to here you, Dr. Picirilli and Dr. McAffee talk a little Revelation and eschatology on a podcast one day.
December 11, 2024
Thanks, Chad. I appreciate it tremendously. Also, I hope you and your family are well. Incidentally, I have been teaching through Mere Eschatology by Dr. Picirillli in Sunday school. I’d love the chance to chat with them about these matters–perhaps one day!