bdavidc
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- Jun 17, 2023
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Revelation 1:1–20
Revelation does not open with a whisper. It opens with a curtain being yanked back so you can see Jesus like you’ve never seen Him. Scripture says this book is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” ~Revelation 1:1. That means God is not trying to hide anything from you. He is putting His Son on display. In a world full of broken news, broken systems, and broken hearts, Revelation steps in and says, Look up. Your King is not confused. Your King is not nervous. Your King is in full control.
John was stuck on Patmos, cut off from everything familiar, but heaven was not cut off from John. He says he was there “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” ~Revelation 1:9. Sometimes God lets the noise die down so you can finally hear Him speak. You may feel stranded in your own kind of Patmos. But Revelation shows that when life sticks you on an island, Jesus can meet you there.
Then John says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” ~Revelation 1:10. That means heaven decided to interrupt his day. One moment he’s alone, the next he hears a voice “as of a trumpet” telling him to write ~Revelation 1:10–11. When Jesus speaks, He does not mumble. He cuts through confusion like a trumpet blast in a silent valley.
John turns around and sees seven golden lampstands. And standing right in the middle of them is “one like the Son of man” ~Revelation 1:12–13. That is Jesus walking in the middle of His churches. Not pacing around heaven. Not checking out. Not looking away. He is among His people. He sees their battles, their burdens, and their victories. This means Jesus is not distant from your life either. He walks right in the middle of your situation.
Then John describes Him. His eyes burn “as a flame of fire” ~Revelation 1:14. Nothing hides from His gaze. His feet shine “like fine brass” ~Revelation 1:15. That’s judgment standing firm. His voice roars “as the sound of many waters” ~Revelation 1:15. Try arguing with a waterfall. His face shines “as the sun” ~Revelation 1:16. You don’t negotiate with that kind of glory. You fall down like John did, who said he fell “as dead” ~Revelation 1:17.
But Jesus touched him. The same Jesus whose eyes burn like fire laid His hand on a trembling man and said, “Fear not” ~Revelation 1:17. That is the heartbeat of this whole chapter. The world shakes. Nations rage. Darkness presses in. But the risen Christ puts His hand on His people and says, Don’t fear. Not because the problem is small, but because your Savior is greater.
Jesus adds, “I am the first and the last” ~Revelation 1:17. He started history and He will wrap it up. Then He says, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore” ~Revelation 1:18. That is the foundation of our hope. Every problem you face has to bow to the One who walked out of His own grave. And He did not just rise. He rose with authority. “I have the keys of hell and of death” ~Revelation 1:18. Keys mean control. Keys mean ownership. Keys mean nobody moves unless He says so.
Finally, Jesus explains the mystery for John. The seven stars are the messengers of the churches, and the lampstands are the churches themselves ~Revelation 1:20. Jesus holds His leaders in His hand, and He walks among His people with full authority. He sees everything. He knows everything. He governs everything.
Revelation starts this way because if you don’t see Jesus first, you will not understand anything else that follows. Before the seals, the trumpets, the bowls, or the battles, God shows you the King. The whole chapter invites you to lift your eyes off the chaos around you and fix them on the Christ who stands above it.
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein” ~Revelation 1:3. The blessing is not for the curious. It is for the obedient. Jesus is not waiting to take the throne. He is already on it. And the safest place for any person in any generation is to stand with the One whose face shines like the sun.
When Jesus Pulls Back the Curtain
“When Jesus Pulls Back the Curtain” is a raw, outlaw-country gospel song built straight from the words of Revelation 1. It tells the moment when John first saw the risen Christ in His glory, the One whose eyes burn like fire, whose voice roars like many waters, and whose face shines like the sun in its strength. The song follows that scene on Patmos, where a lone man stands before the Lord who walks among His churches and holds the seven stars in His hand. It is dusty, unfiltered, and as old as the earth. It is the reminder that when Jesus pulls back the curtain, nothing stays hidden and every heart is laid bare before Him. This is worship with grit, reverence, and the full weight of Scripture.
