Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Revelation 1 and Psalm 53

If you didn’t read yesterday afternoon’s post, please take a look at it and orientate yourself to the Book of The Revelation.

In Revelation 1, the apostle John was in exile on the Mediterranean island of Patmos – sent there as a punishment for his faithful witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This was in an era of Roman persecution which was centred around the Emperor’s claim to be divine and worthy to be acknowledged as Lord. Faithful Christians like John refused to proclaim “Caesar is Lord”, believing that to do so was to deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and so they were found guilty of treason under Roman Law. This often led to martyrdom, but in John’s case to exile.

Chapter 1 introduces the fact that this Book is a letter from Jesus to the churches that John oversaw in Asia Minor. In it Jesus praises, corrects, rebukes, encourages and exhorts His people (chapters 2-3) and then gives them (through John’s written account in chapters 4-22) a vision of His Kingdom coming to earth as it is in heaven, against much opposition and all the odds.

For our devotional reflection today, let’s focus our attention on what we learn about our Lord Jesus Christ in chapter 1. As you read slowly through the chapter, acknowledging that this is an apocalyptic book of signs and symbols, and looking for the deeper truth it is proclaiming about Jesus, you would have good reason to marvel that …

Jesus Christ, is the truest and most faithful witness to the Kingdom of God. As the resurrected Lord, He is the firstborn from the dead, and the King above all kings. He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and he deserves the glory and power for ever and ever! (v.5-6)

Jesus Christ is the bearer of all authority in heaven and on earth. He is perfectly and gloriously holy. He sees and knows all things. He and His Word are invincible. (v.12-16)

He is the First and the Last, the Living One Who was dead but could not be held by death, and is now alive for ever and ever! He holds the keys of death and Hades – the realm of the dead. (v.17-18)

And this glorious, majestic, conquering, authority-bearing, life-giving Jesus moves among His people, tending to them as they bear His light in the deep darkness of this fallen world.

Life application: Meditate on this reality as you go through your day: This all-powerful, all-glorious, life-giving Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour, and He is with me wherever I go! And when you come to worship Him on Sunday in the gathering of His people, remember that He is walking among us in all His glory, tending to us and keeping our light shining brightly for all the world to see Him by. May your life be transformed by the sense of awe and wonder these truths engender in you.