If Jesus were to appear to you today, what would He look like? What would He be like? How would He speak to you, and would you be intimidated to be in His presence?

Such was the case as the Apostle John worshiped on the Lord’s day in Revelation 1. John, who was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the Gospel, was in the Spirit when Christ appeared to Him. He wrote about this experience on Revelation 1:10-17:

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

This glorious appearance of Jesus Christ is a far-cry from the happy-hippy image of Jesus made popular by Renaissance paintings.  Instead of a gentle looking man with long, brown hair and a most excellent beard, John saw Christ as bright as the sun, with white hair, eyes of fire, and brazen feet. The fact that He had a two-edged sword as a tongue is even more intimidating.

Upon seeing Christ, the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, who was the closest of all the disciples to Christ, who walked and talked with Christ three and a half years, fell at His feet as dead.

This experience reminds us of the glory of Christ. No longer is He the suffering Savior nailed to the cross. No longer is He meek and lowly, submitting Himself to self-sacrifice for mankind. His sacrifice has been completed, and our salvation is paid. Now, the resurrected Christ sits in His glorified form at the right hand of the throne of God.

It would do us well to remember that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not merely a “buddy” or companion. He is our creator, God in flesh, Who loved us and gave Himself for us. We should revere Him as such.

Yet, as intimidating as this encounter was for John, the mission of Christ is redemption and restoration, not judgment and wrath. Therefore, when John fell on his face as dead, Christ told Him to fear not, and lifted Him up.

Indeed, the risen Christ is a comfort, not a condemnation to those of us who believe.

In the above posted episode of “The Point,” we study Revelation 1, exploring the things Christ did for us, the power of His resurrected form, and we explore how Christ sees us. It’s well worth the listen.