What if you met Jesus on the street today?

 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. ¹⁹ Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:9-20

Close your eyes (after you finish reading these instructions, of course), imagine you are walking down the sidewalk in your town, and someone comes around the corner in front of you. Somehow you intuitively know this is Jesus. What is his appearance like to you in your imagination? Does he look like some medieval painting? Or do you imagine a more up-to-date hippie Jesus with jeans and long hair with flip-flops? How about nicely dressed in a business suit? These images have all been pictured at one time or another, and all of them are radically wrong. Jesus does have some of the characteristics that are intended in these representations. Still, they are so woefully lacking in the truth of who Jesus is that they are simply wrong representations of Jesus.

The book of Revelation contains a few visions of the post-resurrection Jesus. These are, of course, apocalyptic visions and are not intended to be literal descriptions of Jesus in his resurrection body. You know, the body like we will be given after our resurrection. Symbolic language is powerful. It communicates truth that literal language just can’t accomplish.

I think it is good for us to take a good look at Jesus as represented in the book of Revelation. I believe it gives us a better idea of who Jesus is today in his post-resurrection body seated on the throne in heaven. There are many wonderful reasons to look closely at Jesus in the four gospels. Those pictures are true and accurate. We are to be conformed to that image by the Spirit of God. But Jesus has died, rose from the dead, and been glorified in heaven. He is not the same Jesus as before the crucifixion (don’t try to read too much into this statement). He has taken his work to the next and final level, and the glory he had with the Father before the incarnation has been restored to him in a glorified human body. In that sense, he is different than he was on earth. I believe it is good for us to get a good picture of this Jesus, the one we meet in the book of Revelation.

What did John see?

First, we have to consider what he heard. He heard a voice like a trumpet. I’m not sure exactly what that would sound like but what I am sure of is that it didn’t sound like any human with whom John had held a conversation. The voice like a trumpet, belongs to the angel through whom Jesus is giving his Revelation.

We find in verse fifteen that the voice of Jesus is like the roar of many waters. A sound quite different from that of a trumpet.

John saw what appeared to be a human man. He refers to him as one “like a son of man.” That is specialized language that refers back to the book of Daniel. It is prophetic language that tells us that not only was this man human, but he is also the messiah.

His dress was not typical. He wore a long robe with a golden sash around his chest. This is typical of priestly garb.

Some people would be jealous of his hair. Have you noticed that some women have decided it is fashionable to have white hair? Instead of dying their hair a color, they bleach it out white. As I say, they would be jealous of Jesus. His hair was white like white wool and snow. Since it is compared to wool, I also assume it was a very thick head of hair.

His appearance so far isn’t too strange, even though it is somewhat unusual. Next up are his eyes. Now it gets weird.

His eyes were like a flame of fire. How would I react if some fellow comes walking around the corner directly toward me wearing a long robe with a golden sash…then I notice that his eyes are like a flame of fire. He has my attention.

I look down from those fiery eyes and notice that he is barefoot. His feet, however, are different than any I have seen before. They have the appearance of burnished bronze that has been refined in a furnace. This guy is strange.

I decide I should greet him with a weak, “Hi.” Then he speaks to me, and now I am nearly undone. His voice is like none I have heard before. It is like the roar of many waters.

Then I notice that he is carrying seven stars in his right hand. Don’t ask me how he does that; he just does it.

I don’t know how I missed it when he spoke, but now I notice that from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. That is the weirdest tongue I have ever seen.

Is it even possible that the last thing I notice is that his face is shining like the sun shining in full strength?

If I had this experience, I am sure my reaction would be like John, who fell at his feet as though dead.

What does this picture of Jesus mean? It is symbolic language intended to communicate truth to us. He is a man, but not just any man; he is the Son of Man, referring to the Messiah from Daniel. Immediately, John’s readers would recognize who this is.

His robe and sash indicate his priestly office. He is there for his people to intercede for them. In John’s Revelation, Jesus is among the lampstands that burn oil. The lampstands represent the churches. It is a priestly duty to keep the lampstands constantly burning, changing the oil as needed and trimming the wicks. The oil, of course, represents the Holy Spirit actively burning in the church. As our High Priest, Jesus is always in our midst, pouring out his Spirit and disciplining us to burn hot and bright in the darkness.

His white hair may symbolize age and indicate that he is the Ancient of Days. His eyes also show the fire of judgment. This is not the meek and mild Jesus portrayed by lots of art. He is fierce. His two-edged sword/tongue is a threat or promise to the church at Pergamum. The church allowed false teaching, in particular, the teaching of the Nicolaitans and the teaching of Balaam. If they do not repent, he will war against them with the sword of his mouth.

His burnished bronze feet indicate purification. The furnace is intended to remove the impurities of the metal being fired. He is holy. He calls on us who follow him also to be holy, purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

This is the Jesus we have to deal with today since his ascension into heaven. This is the Jesus who had messages for the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3. It is the same Jesus who today acts in his priestly and kingly role, trimming our wicks and pouring out the fresh oil into our lampstands. He had both commendation and criticism for the seven churches and has the same for us today. This is the Jesus with whom we have to deal, not the baby in the manger.

How Biblical is your image of Jesus? I’m sure mine isn’t perfect, and I have to constantly go back to the Scripture to be sure I have the correct picture. Have you asked yourself whether or not your idea of who Jesus is stands up to Biblical scrutiny? I hope that pointing out this one picture of who Jesus is will help us all to do away with our man-made images of Jesus and worship God as he is.