1:17
John fell down in response to seeing the Lord, completely overcome by the vision. Because of sin we live in fear of God. God is seen as an enemy, and deep down we know we are sinful and deserving of punishment, so to meet God is a terrible thing. But this is not the way things were meant to be. We were created in the image of God, we were created to live in fellowship with God. This is a truly amazing thing, but true nevertheless, and sin destroyed it. But Jesus came to restore things, to fulfil and complete God’s plans. God’s purposes have never changed, and He sent His Son to restore the relationship. So the Lord placed His right hand on John and told him not to be afraid. “I am the first and the last”. Christ is everything. All sorts of things, terrible things, go on in the world, but Christ is Lord.
1:18
“I am the Living One”. John had seen Jesus die on the cross, and he was a witness to the resurrection. Jesus reminds him that He is alive forever and ever. Death is the great weapon that the enemy wields, and one used by some of the persecutors. In Christ it is a defeated enemy. Death is not the end. Christ holds the keys of death and Hades. Hades was the world of the dead. Today the world is in the grip of fear because of Covid. This is largely a fear of death, resulting in governments the world over making irrational decisions, and people going along with them. Covid is a serious virus, but the world has gone through much, much worse situations, without closing everything down. We live in a world gripped by fear, in Christ we do not need to fear anything.
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