Fall At His Feet
Revelation 1:17-18 (NLT) —
‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.’
The last thing John saw was Jesus’ face, warm and brilliant as the sun, shining on him. Then he fell at Jesus’s feet. It’s hard to imagine any other response to the revelation of Jesus we have begun unpacking this week. John’s vision gave him a glimpse of the spiritual reality few of us see with our human eyes, Jesus as he really is, risen and victorious, standing in the middle of his Church.
Jesus is wearing a priest’s robe with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair are white like wool and his eyes like flames of fire. His feet are like bronze burnished in a furnace and when he speaks, his voice is the sound of a mighty ocean. In his right hand, he holds the whole world and the words he speaks are all-powerful and sharp carrying the full authority of the King of kings. And Jesus’ face? That shines with the blessing and brilliance of the sun. His message is simple: 'Look, I am alive! The first and the last! And keys of death are mine once and for all. Death has been defeated.'
As I discussed this passage with a friend this week, we found ourselves realising how often our image of Jesus is of 'Jesus incarnate', the carpenter from Nazareth who walked the earth as a man. A truthful, authentic and important way to imagine Jesus. But does it change our perspective to remember him from this description from Revelation? How does it enrich our knowledge of him? Risen and ascended. Victorious and Divine.
Prayer — Today, take 5 minutes to activate your imagination. Bring to the front of your mind the risen Jesus described in this passage. Perhaps read the whole thing again and allow just the thought of him, alive and active in the spiritual realm, to transform your mind and minister to your needs in this moment.