In this message we come to the revelation of Christ. In their reading of the book of Revelation not many Christians have paid their full attention to the revelation of Christ contained in it. This term, the revelation of Jesus Christ, is found in 1:1, and Bible students have held different opinions of its interpretation. Some say that this term means that the book of Revelation is a book given by Christ as a revelation. This interpretation, which makes the revelation of Christ very objective, is not accurate. If we read the whole book of Revelation, we shall see that this term indicates that Revelation is the unveiling of Christ Himself. It is a picture, a depiction, of Christ, not merely a revelation given by Christ. We must see that Christ is the center, the focus, and the predominant figure of the whole book of Revelation. Thus, we must take the term the revelation of Jesus Christ in a subjective way. It is not merely a revelation given by Christ, but a revelation which unveils Christ to us.
Christ is revealed in the prophecies, types, and clear words of the Old Testament. In a sense, we do not need the New Testament, for if we read the Old Testament, paying close attention to the prophecies, types, and clear words regarding Christ, we shall have a revelation of Christ. Through these revelations, we can visualize what kind of Christ is Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, however perfect are the revelations of Christ in the Old Testament, they are not complete. Hence, we must come to the New Testament which fully is a revelation of Christ. If we merely read the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles, we shall see many aspects of Christ, but we shall not see the aspects covered in the book of Revelation. In this message we must see the unique and particular aspects of Christ’s revelation contained in this book.
In the book of Revelation, Christ is revealed as the ascended One (Rev. 5:3-6, 8-14). In the four Gospels we see Christ incarnated, living on earth, crucified, and resurrected. However, we do not see very much concerning Christ in His ascension. Even in the Epistles we see little of Christ’s ascension. Although the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles say something regarding Christ’s ascension, in none of these books do we find a clear picture of the scene or state in the heavens after Christ’s ascension. If we would see this picture, we must come to the book of Revelation where we have a portrait of Christ in the heavens after His ascension. In this book we have a full and clear picture of the very Christ who has ascended into the heavens. Furthermore, in this picture we see the scene, the sight, the state in the heavens after Christ’s ascension. Only when we see this revelation will we worship Him in an adequate way.
In His ascension, Christ is the Lion-Lamb (5:5-6). In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). But in the scene in the heavens after Christ’s ascension, Christ is revealed mainly as the Lion, not as the Lamb. While John was weeping because “no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it” (Rev. 5:4), one of the elders said to him, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals” (5:5). Before the crucifixion, there might have been reason for John to weep. But it was foolish for him to weep after the ascension. Are you weeping today? If you are still weeping, it means that you have not seen the vision of the ascended Christ in Revelation 5. You need to behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:8 and 9 prophesy concerning Christ as the Lion of Judah, and only in Revelation are we told that Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and is worthy to open the seals of God’s economy. After John heard this declaration from one of the elders, he saw “in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain” (5:6). He saw the Lion as the Lamb. Is Christ the Lion or the Lamb? He is both. Hence, we may call Him the Lion-Lamb.
Why is Christ both the Lion and the Lamb? Because we have two main problems — sin and Satan. Most Christians only take care of the sin problem and forget the Satan problem. Do not think that your husband is so difficult. Do not blame him, but blame Satan who is behind him. Likewise, every wife is good. The bad things which come out of our wives do not actually issue from them but from Satan who is behind them. The Lamb is versus sin and solves the problem of sin, and the Lion deals with Satan. As the Lamb, Christ has accomplished redemption, having washed us from our sins. As the Lion, He has dealt with Satan. He is adequate to meet our needs and to solve our problems. Now sin is over, Satan has been terminated, and we have been redeemed and rescued from the usurping hand of the enemy.
Our Savior is the Lamb as well as the Lion. We have a Lion-Lamb Savior. This One is worthy to open the scroll. Apart from Him, no one in the universe is worthy to open the secret, the mystery, of God’s economy. But the Lion-Lamb is worthy because He has accomplished redemption and has won the victory over Satan. Whenever we Christians have said that Christ was worthy, our thought was that He was worthy of our praises and thanks and worship. When we said, “Lord Jesus, You are worthy,” not many of us realized that He was worthy to open the seals of the secret of God’s economy. We only had the concept that Christ was worthy to receive worship, praise, and thanks from us, His little creatures. But this is an inadequate concept of the Lord’s worthiness. Yet most hymns on the worthiness of Christ express this inadequate concept of His worthiness. Not many hymns praise Christ for being worthy to open the secret of God’s economy. This aspect of the Lord’s worthiness is universal and immeasurable. Of course, Christ is worthy of our praises. He is even worthy of our lives. Nevertheless, we must realize that, according to Revelation 5, Christ’s worthiness is a matter of His being worthy to open the secret of God’s economy. The universe is a mystery which the scientists cannot unravel. They simply do not know the meaning or the purpose of the universe, because it is a secret kept from them. But Christ is worthy to open this secret for He is worthy to open the seals of God’s economy.
Revelation 5:5 says that the Lion is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals. A scroll is a roll of parchment paper or other material. Because a scroll is rolled up, it is difficult to determine just how long it is. The scroll in Revelation 5 is eternally long. Only Christ is worthy to open this eternally-long scroll. Do not think that you have seen everything contained in this scroll. No, we shall need eternity to see all that is included in it. When we are in the New Jerusalem, we shall still be reading the contents of the scroll. For eternity we shall say, “Now I see something more.” God will give us an eternal surprise. The surprise of the opening of the scroll will last for eternity. When you are in eternity, you may say, “The Lord’s surprise is eternal. Although we are now in eternity, we still cannot see the end.” Christ is worthy to open this scroll of God’s mystery.
Because Christ is so worthy, here in this heavenly scene He is worshipped by the angels and all the other creatures. The angels are represented by the twenty-four elders, and all the other creatures are represented by the four living creatures. The angels have elders, the twenty-four angelic elders who take the lead to worship Christ. Here in this picture we see the twenty-four elders praising and all the angels praising, the four living creatures praising and all the other creatures praising. Together they render universal worship to God and the Lamb. The Christ in whom we believe is such a universal Christ.
Now we come to Christ in His administration. There is an administration in the universe. The universe does not operate in a nonsensical way; it operates according to God’s administration. Although we cannot see this Administrator, He is nonetheless carrying out His divine administration. All earthquakes, such as the earthquake which recently hit North China, come from His administration. Christ is not only the Savior, the Lion, and the Lamb; He is also the Administrator of the whole universe.
Firstly, Christ is administrating God’s purpose among the churches, exercising a priestly care for the churches (Rev. 1:11-18). In chapter one, Christ is revealed as the Son of Man clothed in the robe of the High Priest. Today, in God’s administration, Christ exercises His priestly care among the churches. Among the churches, He is clad in a priestly robe. Furthermore, He is “girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle” (Rev. 1:13). It is interesting to note that He is not girded about the loins but about the breasts. This indicates that all His work has been accomplished and that now He is exercising a loving care for His beloved churches. Today, Christ no longer works, but He cares for us. He even rebukes and chastises us in love. He is the loving Priest caring for His churches today.
Revelation clearly shows that, on the one hand, Christ is among the churches and that, on the other hand, He is in the heavens carrying out God’s economy. The strongest proof of this is in 5:7, which, speaking of Christ’s receiving the scroll, says, “And He came and took it out of the right hand of Him who sits upon the throne.” The scroll of God’s economy has been put into Christ’s hands; He now holds God’s economy and carries it out. We do not see this revelation in any other New Testament book. While Christ is in the heavens carrying out God’s economy, which is mainly concerned with God’s judgment of the earth, He takes care of God’s people (Rev. 7:1-3; 8:3-5). This is fully revealed in chapters seven and eight. God has two peoples — the children of Israel and the redeemed saints. No matter how much this earth is judged by Christ in God’s administration, He will take care of the chosen Israel and of the redeemed church. Hallelujah, we all are under Christ’s care in His administration. I strongly believe that today Christ is caring for the nation of Israel. It does not matter what the other nations say or do, for the nation of Israel is under the care of Christ’s universal administration. The other countries may try certain things, but all will be in vain because of the watchful concern of the universal Administrator. We all must worship Christ as the Administrator, as the One in the heavens administering all things for the fulfillment of God’s economy.
No book reveals Christ’s coming back as clearly as the book of Revelation does. This book reveals that Christ’s coming back has two aspects — a secret aspect and a public aspect. This is possible because Christ is wonderful. Firstly, Christ will come back secretly as a thief (Rev. 3:3b; Rev. 16:15). No thief tells you in advance the time of his arrival. In His secret coming as a thief, Christ will come to steal the precious things. No thief steals things that are without value. Thieves only come to steal what is valuable. Christ tells us to be watchful, saying, “If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you” (3:3b). The time of His secret coming is unknown. We all must ask ourselves, “Am I precious? Am I worthy of being stolen by Christ in His secret coming?”
At the close of the great tribulation, Christ will come openly on the cloud (Rev. 1:7; 14:14). Among Christians, there are two concepts of Christ’s second coming. According to one concept, Christ will come before the tribulation, and according to the other concept, His coming will be after the tribulation. Because many Christians have not seen the two aspects of Christ’s coming — the secret aspect and the open aspect — they have been fighting amongst themselves. Both the coming before the tribulation and the coming after the tribulation have some basis in the Scriptures. But, having tunnel vision, most Christians have not seen the whole view of Christ’s coming back. Firstly, Christ will come secretly and then He will come publicly. His secret coming will be for the overcoming saints, and His public coming will be for all the earth. Thus, 1:7 says, “Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him.” When Christ comes on the cloud, the earth will see Him. We must be clear that Christ’s coming back will firstly be concealed and eventually it will be manifested openly and publicly.
In a very positive sense, the book of Revelation is a book of judgment. Christ, God’s Administrator, will judge everything. Firstly, He judges the church, and afterwards, He will judge the world.
Christ will judge all the world by the sixth seal, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls (Rev. 6:12-17; 8:1-2, 12; 11:14-15; 15:1, 7-8; 16:1-21). During the more than nineteen centuries since Christ’s ascension, the world has been punished by natural calamities. But from the opening of the sixth seal, the world will be punished by supernatural calamities. Revelation 6:12 and 13 say, “And I saw when He opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.” The sun becoming black as sackcloth, the moon becoming as blood, and the stars falling to the earth are supernatural calamities. The seven trumpets will also be supernatural calamities. The first four trumpets will bring forth judgment on the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sun, moon, and stars. The great tribulation will begin with the fifth trumpet, continue with the sixth trumpet, and be concluded with the seven bowls of the seventh trumpet. All these are the judgments executed by Christ on the world.
In Revelation 17 and 18 we see the judgment on the great Babylon, which is apostate Christendom. Besides His judgment upon the whole world, the Lord will execute a special judgment upon Christendom, Babylon the Great.
Christ’s judgment will also be upon Antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, and their followers (Rev. 19:11-21; 20:1-3, 7-10). The Antichrist is the man of sin (2 Thes. 2:3) and the little horn (Dan. 7:8), and the false prophet is the one who works with the Antichrist. The Antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan are devilishly triune and form a counterfeit trinity. Because the Antichrist will be so enticing and attractive, he will have a great following. But all his followers will be destroyed along with the Antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan. Christ will judge the Antichrist and the false prophet by means of supernatural calamities: the earth will open and they will fall directly into the lake of fire. They will not die, be buried and resurrected, and then face the judgment at the great white throne. In their case, there will not be the need for these procedures. They will fall into the lake of fire supernaturally.
Lastly, as God’s Administrator, Christ will judge the dead (Rev. 20:11-15). Do not think that if you die everything will be all right. You may desire to die, but the Lord wants to make you alive. If you are not willing for Him to enliven you today for salvation, at the end of the old creation He will resurrect you for judgment. At that time, He will not resurrect you in a positive sense but in a negative sense. John 5:28-29 say, “An hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth...those who have done the evil to the resurrection of judgment.” The unbelieving dead will not remain buried for eternity. They will be resurrected, judged, and then cast into the lake of fire.
At the completion of His judgment of the world, Christ will come back to take full possession of the earth (Rev. 10:1-7; 18:1). The whole earth will belong to Him; not one part of it will belong to anyone else. Today many nations are fighting to increase their territory, but they are fighting in vain, for whatever they gain will eventually belong to Christ. In His coming back to take possession of the earth, Christ will be like another Angel. A number of times in the book of Revelation the title, “another Angel,” is used with respect to Christ (Rev. 7:2; 8:3; 10:1; 18:1). This title is used to denote Christ because, as God’s Administrator, He behaves like an angel. In the Old Testament, Christ was called the Angel of the Lord (Gen. 22:11-12; Exo. 3:2-6) who was sent by God to carry out God’s commission. When He comes to take over the earth, He will come as One who has been commissioned by God for this purpose. He will be another Angel with great authority and will come in His glory (18:1). In His coming, Christ will place “His right foot on the sea and the left on the land” (10:2). This indicates that He will tread upon the sea and the land, which means that He will take possession of them (Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:3). In the Bible, whatever your feet tread upon becomes your possession. Since Christ will tread upon the sea and the land, both the sea and the land will belong to Him. After Christ possesses the earth, He will finish the mystery of God (Rev. 10:7). At that time, the economy of God will be fully manifested. It will no longer be a mystery, but an open secret.
After Christ takes possession of the earth, He will reign over the earth as the King in the kingdom, ruling over the nations with His overcoming believers (Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27). None of us are happy with the rulers of this earth. As one who has traveled throughout the world and who has come to know the world situation, I realize that as far as ruling is concerned, the entire earth is poor. Where are the proper rulers? We are awaiting the day when Christ will come as the King to reign over the earth. Christ will reign in His kingdom, and we shall be His co-kings.
Ultimately, in the book of Revelation we see Christ in His centrality and universality in eternity. In eternity, Christ will be everything. He will be the centrality and universality in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:9-10, 23) as the tree of life growing in the river of water of life (Rev. 22:1-2). In Rev. 21:23 we have a clear picture of the centrality and universality of Christ. Here we see that God is the light and that Christ, the Lamb, is the lamp. Light is always contained in a lamp. Thus, the light and the lamp should never be separated; they must remain one. God is the light, Christ is the lamp, and the New Jerusalem is the container of this lamp. God shines in and through Christ, and Christ shines in and through the New Jerusalem. By this we see that Christ will be the centrality and universality of the coming eternity. God in Christ and Christ in the redeemed ones will shine throughout eternity. This will be the scene in eternity when Christ will be the center, the circumference, and everything in the New Jerusalem. This is our Christ.
