Monday: Images of Jesus
Read the following texts, which have various names for Jesus in them and in some cases descriptions of Him and what He has done, is doing, or will do. What do the texts teach us about Jesus?
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These are only a few of the many texts in Revelation that depict Jesus in various roles and functions. He is the Lamb, which points to His first coming, in which He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). He was also the One who “was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Rev. 1:18), a clear reference to His death and resurrection from the dead. “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:46, ASV). And in Revelation 19:11-15, He is depicted in His role at the Second Coming, when He will return to the earth in power and glory and judgment. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27, NKJV).
| How can we learn day by day to make the life, death, resurrection, and the return of Jesus the central focus of our own existence and the foundation for the moral choices we make? |
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The book of Revelation 1:5 depicts Christ as the firsfruit of resurrection yet during His death, the graves of some individuals opened up and they resurrected and were seen in Jerusalem (Mathew 27:53).Now, where did these people go during the short time as they were waiting for Christ's grand resurrection and confirmation by the Father in heaven? Was it the earthly Jerusalem where they we're seen? Are there shades of resurrection?
Simeon, it seems that a certain group of people were resurrected at the same time or slightly after Christ was resurrected (not before). They were His "firstfruits" of the salvation He provided. The Bible indicates that they "appeared unto many" just as Christ did, and it is reasonable to assume that they ascended to heaven with Christ. (This is what Ellen White writes in From Heaven With Love. This book is a 1984 condensation of the Desire of Ages, and you can read it online or get it from Amazon.)
I would say that developing a close relationship with our Heavenly Father day in and day out will help our human selves to keep our focus on Jesus..His death..His life.
By doing this we are building up our foundation to make moral decisions while looking forward to His second coming.
Jesus is truly the only Hope for our present and future. The past is gone. What else can be safer? To know all of this and to choose otherwise is nonsense!
The faithful witness; the first born from the dead; the ruler over the Kings of earth
What are the hope in these three phrases?
Faithful witness to the Love of God
Faithful in raising us from death
Faithful in making us rulers over even the angels to pass judgement upon them.
He who called us is faithful.
To Him who loved us
Washed us from our sins
In His own blood
What did He do with us?
Has made us Kings as priests
To who?
Not just to the earthly peasants
To His and Father
How can I stop praising God?
to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen
I cannot add anymore to what He has bestowed upon me.
Story of redemption is inexhaustible to the Love of God.
I can learn to make Jesus central to my life and my moral choices when I contemplate the depth of His love revealed in the scriptures. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned it was promised that He would overcome evil. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fire it was the preincarnate Son of God who was with them. He came to this broken world to rescue us and He didn’t let the terrible cost dissuade Him. Oh how deep the love of Jesus. I long to see His face.
"How can we learn day by day..."
"Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart..."
John opens his book with: “In the beginning was the Word." He then goes on to describe the Lord Jesus in various interesting ways. In the book of Revelation 19:7 for instance he talks of Jesus as the Lamb, echoing John the Baptist, who spoke of Him as the Lamb of God (John 1:29,36). In Revelation 19:11-14, John describes the Lord as a glorious, majestic, victorious, warrior King who rides out of heaven on an awesome white horse. In addition to being called the Word of God, he is called “Faithful and True,” picking up on the earlier self-designation of Christ as the “Amen, the faithful and true witness.” This King rides out to assault the kingdom of Satan, sin and darkness. His eyes flash with fire, His head bears many crowns, His robes dripped in blood and a sword comes out of His mouth and then we see Christ emerging in victory over death and the grave. Repeating earlier references, John says of Him that He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:9; Isa. 11:4; Rev. 2:27). As “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16) He will finally come out in all its effulgent splendor.
What ever our finite minds develop, if God is our all in all, the most important factor to our existence, there is no other way to form a meaningful relationship with the Father. History may be interesting but tomorrow is of prime importance. I will share an example of events that demonstrate Gods intervention into my life unexpectedly. Over this past Sabbath I was in the church parking lot, and two of the members parked next to me. One of the members noticed that they smelled gasoline coming from under my car. I cannot smell anything so was not aware. Days later at the mechanics, he smelled the gasoline coming from under my car. The fuel pump was the culprit I ask him if this was dangerous? Yes it is. It could catch fire. This is where My hindsight and Gods foresight appear. If I had not parked when and where I did and the reason,is another story, that involves church politics. The point is, God has a way of making things so much better than what we may choose. How thankful I am. Romans 8:28 came to my mind. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,... Thank you God!
These resurrected group of people, at the resurrection of Christ Jesus is symbol of what is about to take place at the second coming of the King of kings, LORD of lords and the God of all gods.