Derek Prince - The Heavenly Picture of the Risen Jesus in Revelation
My interpretation begins with Revelation 1:10–17. John says: I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last; and what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia; to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia and Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands...
And I notice in Revelation when there’s to be a personal revelation of God the attention of the person receiving the revelation does not usually focus, first of all, on the person of the Lord It’s as if we could not stand immediately being confronted. So first of all John sees the seven lampstands. Then he says: and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace; and his voice was the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
Now John had had probably, the most intimate relationship with Jesus while He was on earth of any of the apostles. He was the one who reclined on the Lord’s bosom at the last supper, and asked that question: Who is the one who betrays you? Even after the resurrection he shared breakfast with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee together with a number of other disciples. But at this point John had a totally new revelation of Jesus The revelation was so overpowering that he fell at His feet like a dead man. What was the revelation? My answer is: he encountered Jesus as Judge. You see, today we hear very little in the church about the fact that Jesus is not only savior, but He is Judge. He’s the Judge of all men. He will judge the church. And later on He will judge all the rest of the dead.
I think it’s extremely important that we come face to face with the fact that Jesus is the Judge. And it was a terrifying spectacle. His eyes were like a flame of fire; his voice like the sound of many waters; out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; his feet were like burnished bronze in a furnace. All those are types of judgment. And when John encountered the Judge, he fell at His feet as one dead. Now, I think it’s important that we all recognize that we will all encounter Jesus as Judge one day.
Let me just turn to 2 Corinthians 5 for a few moments 2 Corinthians chapter 5, I want to read from verse 10: For we [and that means all Christians] we must all appear [or be manifested] before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And notice there are only two categories. Whatever is not good is bad, there is nothing neutral in God’s categories. And then Paul goes on to say: Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
I wonder how many of us have ever come to know the terror of the Lord? How many of us ever preach from a background of the terror of the Lord? The spectacle of Jesus was so overwhelming that John became like a dead man. Then it says: Jesus laid his right hand on me, saying to me: Do not be afraid. I am the first and I am the last I am he who lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen; and I have the keys of Hades and of death. Now Jesus is presented not merely as the Judge but as the total victor over all forms of evil: sin, death, satan, Hades. He had emerged totally victorious there was nothing missing in His victory. I want to point out to you that Jesus did not go through that for His sake, because He always was victorious. He identified Himself with us that He might take our place and bring us into His victory. That’s the grace and the mercy of God.