Chapter X1.2
APPEARANCE UNTO PETER
After the women had appeared at the tomb, the angel spoke unto them as recorded in Mark 16:6-7, "". . . Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you." You will notice the admonition or glad tidings that the angel is sending through the women to Peter-a special word from the Lord to Peter that He will see him there by the sea of Galilee. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 the apostle Paul’s description, explanation of the gospel of Christ, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen of Cephas. Here in this 15th chapter Paul gives evidence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ by naming the ones to whom He appeared. Peter is the first. one that is here named. In Mark 16:7 the Lord had sent a special word to Peter that He would meet him. Here in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 Paul says that He appeared unto Cephas, which is the other name of Peter. Then in Luke 24:33-34, speaking of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the Lord had appeared unto them, "They rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." These references make plain beyond any doubt that the Lord Himself appeared unto the apostle Peter, an individual appearance, and nothing more is recorded of that appearance than we have here. This appearance manifestly is a very private appearance and meeting between the Lord and Peter. It was of Peter that our Lord had said in John 1:42, "And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." At the first meeting of our Lord with Peter He tells him that his name is Simon, which means vacillating, unstable and shifting. He says, "I am going to change your name to Cephas," which is a rock, a solid foundation. And our Lord changed him from Simon to Cephas, and all of these experiences were a part of the development and growth of this individual from the vacillating Simon to the solid-rock individual Cephas. He was headstrong and egotistical; and when our Lord had called attention to the fact that all of them would flee and forsake Him, Peter, with an air of braggadocio said, "No, Lord, not I; though all of them forsake Thee, yet not will I." Then it was that the Lord reminded him that before the cock would crow he would deny Him thrice. Peter sinned grievously in bragging and boasting of what he would do, in the face of what our Lord had said that he would do. Having boasted of what he would do, Peter was forced to resort to human strength to carry out that boast that he would stand with the Lord, though all others forsook Him. And when that mad rabble came to seize the Lord Jesus Christ, Peter, to carry out his boast, took his sword and tried to slay the first one that he came to; but missing the head of the individual, the sword glances off the side and cut off the ear.
Here was given to Peter a lesson that you and I need to learn. When we begin to boast and to brag about what we are going to do for the Lord, we find ourselves ultimately forced to resort to human means, plans and methods to accomplish that of which we have been boasting. And that is what Peter did. But the Lord would not accept the service of Peter which was rendered in the energy of the flesh and neither will He receive any such service from you or me. Because the Lord would not accept it, Peter was miffed and began to pout and sulk, drawing back and following the Lord from afar. It was as if he were saying, "Since you will not receive my service, nor acknowledge it, and since you do not appreciate it, I will withdraw." And he did so. He was not with the group that followed Jesus into the court and into the meeting of the Sanhedrin. He came on later and soon found himself with the enemy and warming himself by the enemy’s fire. Soon he was denying with an oath that he even knew the man (Jesus). He did not call Him by His Name, but simply said, "the man." He did that which the Lord had said, he denied the Lord three times while in the presence of the Lord’s enemies. The pain that came to his heart and his whole being when the Lord, passing from one court to another, looked upon him! The piercing eye of our Lord searched his innermost being and revealed his deepest thoughts. Peter now saw his deep sin and had knowledge of the fact that Jesus knew of his sin. Then the cock crowed and Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Only the Lord knows the things that went through the heart of Peter in those days from the time that he denied our Lord until he ran to the tomb that morning and saw the undisturbed graveclothes and was convinced of the resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter knew not where the body was or what had become of it. The love, tenderness and compassion of the Lord is manifested in the special message to Peter, "You tell Peter." I can well imagine Peter turning to the women again and saying, "Now, what was that you said? Did the angel actually callout my name alone? Did the Lord send word by the angels and you that He would see me there?" What joy and happiness came to the heart of Peter! Our Lord would restore him to previous fellowship. The Lord had much work for him to do. Peter was the one who made that great confession when Jesus asked him, "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?" Peter said, "Some say that Thou art John the Baptist, some say Thou art Elijah, others say that Thou art that prophet, some say that You are Jeremiah." Then did Jesus pinpoint the question and make it very personal, saying, "Whom do ye say that I am?" Peter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then said Jesus, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona. Flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you but My Father which is in heaven, and I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Then it was that the Lord announced to Peter that He would deliver unto him the keys of the kingdom of the heavens.
You will note that He did not say He would deliver unto him the keys of heaven. And all jokes and stories pertaining to St. Peter’s being at the door of heaven and having the keys of heaven are not according to Scripture at all. It was the keys of the kingdom of the heavens that were delivered unto Peter; and he opened the kingdom of the heavens to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, to the Samaritans when he came down to Samaria where Philip had been preaching, and to the Gentiles when he went into the household of Cornelius with the glorious gospel of the grace of God.
Peter was the one who was going to do the great and mighty preaching on the day of Pentecost. Peter was the one through whom the Spirit of the Lord was going to write those remarkable epistles, I Peter and II Peter. Peter was the one who was going to be used of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. Because our Lord had a special and particular ministry for the apostle Peter, He gave this special revelation unto him. Somewhere between the time that the women made this announcement and before our Lord appeared unto the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He had appeared unto Peter. I doubt not, and I am sure that neither do you doubt but that there was that broken-hearted confession from the mouth of Peter unto the Lord Jesus Christ when they met. And what a blessed experience it is when we can claim the precious promise that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. THE ASCENSION Please read Luke 24:45-53 and Acts 1:1.11.
Thus read the two accounts by Luke of the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ up into heaven in His body of flesh and bones. The value and significance of the physical, bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be found in the fact that in order to be saved one must believe that God raised Him from the dead and that He ascended into heaven, He is present in heaven and is coming again from heaven in His body of flesh and bones. See Romans 10:9; 1 John 4:1-3; 1 John 5:1. These articles on the resurrection appearances are for the specific purpose of giving out the glorious news of salvation by grace; and a belief in the coming and the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ in that body of flesh and bones is an essential, an integral part of the good news which, having been accepted, is life eternal to the one who receives it. In these accounts the Lord takes the eleven disciples out to Bethany and on over to the mount and there He is speaking to them. He has appeared to them off and on during the course of the forty days between the resurrection and this moment and now He stretches out His hands over them to bless them-hands which still bear the marks of the nail wounds-and as He with outstretched arms and hands blesses them, He begins to ascend. That body of flesh and bones; that body which had walked the shores of Galilee; that body which had appeared unto them there at the sea when He greeted them early in the morning, having prepared breakfast for them; that body which came to the upper room where the ten were present, Thomas being absent; that same body which He challenged them to come and handle and feel and see that a ghost or a spirit did not have flesh and bones such as He had; that same body with which He ate fish and honey; that same body with which He appeared eight days later unto the eleven, Thomas being present; that same body which He asked, yea, commanded Thomas to come, handle, thrust his finger into the nail wound, and thrust his hand into the spear wound. As He with outstretched hands in that body over them, around them, above them, begins to ascend, the disciples stand transfixed. They are witnessing with their own eyes a literal, physical, visible, tangible body ascending into the heavens. They watch. That body continues to ascend, going higher and higher and higher, and after awhile the Shekinah glory of the Lord God Almighty in a cloud envelopes that body. That body disappears from sight but the disciples stand, as it were, transfixed, continuing to gaze up into heaven. They had read of Enoch walking with God and disappearing into the heavens with God and his body never being found, though it was sought diligently. They had heard and read of Elijah being caught up into heaven in a whirlwind, attended by the horsemen and chariots of God, and how that Elisha had seen that body going up into heaven and of the ridicule that was heaped upon Elisha because he spoke of the actual, literal, physical ascension of Elijah into heaven. But here before their own eyes, they themselves had witnessed the ascension of a real, literal, physical body into the heavens. And they stand transfixed, gazing up into heaven.
God Almighty, looking upon them in tenderness and mercy, condescends to send from heaven two men dressed in white, and they come and stand by the disciples; and these two messengers from heaven say unto them, ’Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus. . ." Note the name Jesus. Not Christ, not Christ Jesus, not Jesus Christ, but Jesus, the name that belongs to His body of flesh and bones, the name that has no significance or relationship to any other name such as Christ or Lord or God unless that body of flesh and bones is considered in relationship to that other name. This same Jesus-the One who was born of the virgin Mary; the One who grew in favor with God and man; the One who appeared in the temple at the age of twelve and confounded the doctors with His questions and answers; the One who went in and out among them, ministering unto them, teaching them, associating with them; the One whom they knew, the One whom they had seen and, as John testifies later on, the One whom they had handled themselves. This same Jesus-the One who was so brutally beaten, bruised; the One who was nailed to the cross; the One who hung on that cross, suffering the excruciating pain and humiliation; this same Jesus, whose body was taken down from that cross, wrapped in myrrh and aloes and linen, a hundred pounds of it, by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus; this same Jesus that was placed in that tomb, sealed and guarded according to Pilate’s instruction; this same Jesus which arose physically, literally, visibly; this same Jesus which had appeared some forty days with infallible proofs to His disciples that He had risen from the dead in that body of flesh and bones ’I. . . this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner." He is coming back just exactly as He went away. He went away in a body of flesh and bones, He is present in heaven today in that body of flesh and bones, and He is coming back in that same body just exactly like He went away into heaven in that body of flesh and bones. "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Consider the paradoxical state of so many today who deny that God Almighty in the Person of Jesus could ascend to heaven in His body of flesh and bones, and yet acclaim the feats of a Godless, Christless Russia who contends, along with our own scientists, that we shall take a man in his body of flesh and bones, put him in space, put him on the moon, put him out yonder in the stars-man claiming to be able to do that which they deny unto God Almighty. But praise God, we have the testimony of our Lord and our God that this same Jesus in His body of flesh and bones has been taken into and is present in heaven today and from those same heavens "this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." I want to shout with the apostle Paul, "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first- fruits of them that slept."
He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ and that God raised Him from the dead shall be saved.
APPEARANCE TO STEPHEN A most pertinent question in regard to the resurrection of our Lord is this: Where is the body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? . . . that body of flesh and bones, that body which He received from the virgin Mary, the body which has the name of Jesus, that body which is designated as the Son of Man. . . where is that body? Your answer to that question reveals whether or not you are a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ or whether you belong to those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. In 1 John 4:1-3 the importance of that question is seen in the fact that whosoever denies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of the spirit of Antichrist. Whosoever confesses that Jesus is come in the flesh is of God. In 2 John 1:7 we read, "For many deceivers are entered in the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." That is not a correct translation of that verse. You can check many of your modern translations; if you have access to the Greek or if you are acquainted with a Greek professor or a minister who has studied Greek, you will find that the literal translation is that "Whosoever confesses not that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. . ." This was written some sixty years more or less after His resurrection and ascension into heaven. Whoever denies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh and is coming (again) in the flesh is a devil and an antichrist.
Unto three different individuals our Lord and Saviour revealed Himself in His body of flesh and bones after He ascended into heaven. Many think, in connection with 1 Corinthians 15:50, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption," that bodies of flesh and bones cannot enter into heaven; but the Spirit of the Lord specified "flesh and blood," and not "flesh and bones." Our Lord’s body was not corruptible; it was not subject to the processes of death and decay. This is true because His body was sinless. Though all our sins were put upon Him, He had no sin in Him. In Acts 6:1-15, beginning with vs. 8 we read, "Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people." Vs. 10: "They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, And set up false witnesses which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." As they brought Stephen before the council the high priest asked him to reply to those charges. Stephen’s reply in chapter 7 constitutes one of the great apologies of Scripture. And when I say "apologies," I do not mean in the sense in which we use the word apology today; but the apology as delivered by Stephen then was a defense of the position which he held and of the truths which he spoke. You will study that at your leisure and God will bless you.
Now I want to bring you in the 7th chapter to the 55th verse: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." That is the climax of the indictment, the charge and the defense of one of the first deacons of the church, Stephen. Standing before that Sanhedrin, that august and solemn body, he cried out with these words as he was looking steadfastly up into heaven. Being filled with the Spirit of God, seeing Jesus standing on the right hand of God, he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." He saw Jesus. The name Jesus means specifically Jehovah our Saviour. He was not called Jesus until He received His body of flesh, blood and bones from Mary; so that we know His name Jesus applies to His earthly body and is the name of His humiliation, His suffering and His sorrow. This is the name by which He was crucified. They set over His head the accusation written, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." The body which He received from Mary is to be His body throughout eternity; likewise the name Jesus will be applicable to Him, whether alone or in association with some of His other names throughout eternity. The name of Jesus is never used with adjectives. It is His name of humiliation and suffering, and adjectives are entirely out of place. In Acts 2:36 we learn that God hath made this Jesus both Lord and Christ. And in Php 2:10-11 we are told that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Christ and Lord. Stephen, looking up into heaven, saw Jesus. He saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He saw that body of flesh and bones and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."
"Son of man" is the other name of His humiliation. And standing at the right hand of God, visible to Stephen through the opened heavens, was Jesus, the Son of man. He who arose from the dead in that body of flesh and bones now is in heaven in that body of flesh and bones at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us; and in that same body He will return one day to call us to meet Him in the air.
Jesus in His body of flesh and bones is risen from the dead and has been seen in heaven by Stephen, our first of three witnesses who have seen Him since He ascended into heaven.
APPEARANCES TO PAUL In our last article, discussing the physical appearances of our Lord after his resurrection, we called attention to His appearance unto Stephen, who saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God and cried out to the synagogue before whom he had given his defense, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." In the 9th chapter of Acts we have the first appearance of our Lord to Saul of Tarsus. Acts 9:1-6 : "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"
Here was the one at whose feet was laid the clothing of the ones who stoned Stephen. Here was one-this proud, young Pharisee-who, observing Stephen being stoned, heard Stephen say, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." I doubt if Saul of Tarsus ever forgot that moment or the angelic face of Stephen and the prayer which he prayed for him and for those who were guilty of stoning him to death. But Saul so hated this movement called "the way," this movement we call Christianity, that he had thrown into prison all the Christians he could find in Jerusalem. Then knowing of the colony of Christians over at Damascus, he obtained authority from the high priest to go to Damascus into the synagogues, where he could look around. All he could find there who were walking in "this way," who were believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, he could take, have them bound and brought back to Jerusalem to be thrown into prison and later executed. As he was journeying along the way, drawing nigh unto Damascus, suddenly there shined round about him a light brighter than the dazzling sun reflected upon the sands at high noon. He fell to the earth, blinded by the brightness and glory of the One who was standing in front of him. This One standing in front of him spoke and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" What a startling question! Saul knew this was some manifestation of deity, some theophany, some revelation of the Godhead. But what did this One mean by saying that Saul was persecuting Him? Saul was persecuting no one except those followers of the lowly Nazarene. And Saul replied, "Who art Thou, Lord? He knew this was One from heaven but not exactly who. And he said, "Lord, who art Thou?" And the Lord replied, "I am Jesus."
Again I call your attention to the fact that He did not say, "I am Jesus Christ." He did not say, "I am Christ Jesus." He did not say, "I am the Lord." He did not say, "I am the Prince of the house of David." He simply said, "I am Jesus." That name, the name Jesus, is the name of His physical, human body. He was standing there on the sand on the highway, in front of Saul of Tarsus. "I am Jesus." Saul of Tarsus would not have been surprised if He had said, "I am the Lord." He would not have been surprised if He had said, "I am from heaven." Saul knew that; Saul believed in God; Saul believed in the resurrection; Saul believed in angels. But when this One said, "I am Jesus," he who went out to slay remained to pray; he who went out cursing remained to be cursed; he who went out hating, casting into prison and executing, remained to be hated, thrown into prison and later on, executed.
Why the physical, the visible, the bodily revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ to Saul of Tarsus? At the meeting in the upper room the disciples, attempting to elect an apostle to take Judas’ place, called attention to one of the qualifications of an apostle: "One must be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection." For one to be an apostle he must have seen the Lord Jesus Christ in His body of flesh and bones after He rose from the dead. And the Lord Jesus Christ was choosing, I think, His own apostle to take the place of Judas. In Galatians 1:1 the apostle Paul says, "Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man." He was not chosen by men; he was not chosen by any man. A group of men did not get together and elect him to succeed Judas. He was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. In my personal work among the lost, I have encountered more than one who told me that they had not accepted the Lord as Saviour because they were’ ’waiting for the light." When I inquired as to what light, they said it was the light comparable to that which was shown to Saul of Tarsus. I thank God I could tell them to cease to wait. Because no such light is coming. That revelation, that appearance, that light was vouchsafed to Saul of Tarsus because Jesus was choosing him to be an apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ had to appear unto him in His body of flesh and bones that Saul of Tarsus himself might see that body, thus fulfilling a prerequisite to apostleship. In Galatians 1:11 we read concerning Saul of Tarsus, "I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it (by man), but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Jesus appeared unto Saul of Tarsus and taught him by word of mouth the gospel that he preached. That is the meaning and significance of the statements of Paul the apostle when he says, for instance, "This we say unto you by the word of the Lord. . ." Jesus came, no doubt, there in the Arabian desert-as Paul says in Galatians 1:17 when he speaks of his conversion: "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia. . ." There are some two and a half years of Paul’s life unaccounted for. Many are the scholars who believe those two and a half years were spent out there in the Arabian desert with the Lord Jesus Christ. And one thing we do know-that the gospel which he preached was given to him by word of mouth as Jesus taught him, an apostle, even as He had taught the other apostles. In the third place, in Acts 22:17-18 we read, "It came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; And saw Him. . ." (saw Jesus in His body of flesh and bones) ". . . saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." Paul did just that. Later on, he was arrested and thrown into prison and in Acts 23:11 we read, "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
Four times the Lord appeared unto Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul the apostle. On the road to Damascus the Lord came and stood in front of him, spoke unto him and gave him his orders, which at that time were to go into the city and wait until he would be told later on what to do. Then in the Arabian desert the Lord appeared unto Saul and taught him by word of mouth the gospel that he preached, even as He taught the other apostles. Then in the temple as Paul prayed, the Lord appeared unto him and told him to get out of there because they would not receive his testimony. And fourth, in prison in the middle of the night the Lord appeared unto him and told him, "Be of good cheer. Just as you have witnessed of Me in Jerusalem, so shall you yet bear a testimony to Me in Rome."
Saul of Tarsus-Paul the beloved apostle-saw Jesus Christ in His body of flesh and bones on at least four different occasions. No wonder he could preach as he preached! Because he believed; and he believed because he had seen. I feel sure that the success of the ministry of the apostle Paul was due in a great deal to the personal, physical, visible appearances of our Lord unto him. Also the catching up into heaven of the apostle Paul, his seeing and hearing things of which he did not speak, ministered greatly to his faithfulness. In John 20:29 Jesus saith unto Thomas, "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Though we have not seen our Lord in His body of flesh and bones, yet believing in the resurrection when we were saved, according to Romans 10:9, we know as certainly as did Paul that Christ did rise physically, and that ere long He shall return in the same manner. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
APPEARANCE TO JOHN ON THE ISLE OF PATMOS In our past two studies we presented the manifestation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His body of flesh and bones to Stephen, also to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, to Paul in the Arabian desert, again in the temple and then in the prison. We now want to consider the revelation of the Lord unto John the revelator on the island of Patmos. In Revelation 1:9-20 we have the account of the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ unto John as Jesus came to the island of Patmos on which John was located. John tells us that he was in the island of Patmos for the specific purpose of obtaining, that is, getting the Word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ which is recorded in the book of Revelation. I differ with those who imagine John to have been exiled to the Isle of Patmos. The 9th verse seems to call attention to the fact that he went out there for the specific purpose of receiving the Revelation. In vs. 10 he says (translating literally), "I became in the spirit and was projected into the Lord’s day" (or, into the day of the Lord). That is the secret of the book of the Revelation. John had gone to the island of Patmos to receive this Revelation. When the time came for him to receive the Revelation, in the Spirit he was projected into the day of the Lord. He heard a mighty voice behind him, a voice as of the sound of many waters; and this voice commanded him to write in a book the things which he would see and send the revelation to the seven churches designated. Then John turned to see who it was that was speaking to him. This One who was speaking to him was behind him. When this One appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus He appeared in front of him; but here He appeared to the rear of John and when John turned and looked he saw first of all seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks One like unto the Son of Man.
Here again we have the name of our Lord’s humanity. He is the Son of Man now on the earth with John; He is yonder in heaven the Son of Man with God the Father; He is coming back one day as the Son of Man to establish His kingdom. John saw Him like unto the Son of Man. He had on the priestly robes which reached to His feet but the girdle was around the breast rather than the waist, the difference being that the priest wore the girdle around his waist but the judge wore the girdle around his breast. So the Son of Man appears here as the Judge, His office as High Priest finished.
John continued to describe Him as he saw Him: head and hair white like wool, as white as snow; His eyes as a flame of fire; His feet like fine brass; His voice as the sound of many waters; in His right hand seven stars and out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword. You will notice as Jesus was standing John saw the girdle about His breast; he saw His head, the hairs on His head; he saw His eyes and His feet, he heard the sound of His voice; he saw seven stars in His right hand and the sharp two-edged sword going out of His mouth. Those physical attributes could be only of One who was visible to John in His body of flesh and bones, for a spirit has not flesh and bones, a spirit would not have the head, the hair, the eyes, the mouth, feet and hands, such as this One had.
He was shining in His countenance as the sun, even as Saul of Tarsus saw on the road to Damascus. When Saul saw Him he fell prostrate in the dust, blinded. When John saw Him on the island of Patmos, he "fell at His feet as dead" and the Lord standing in front of John, laid His right hand upon him. One says, "Well, this is just a figure of speech. This body of His, His head and hair, His eyes like a flame of fire and His feet like fine brass, His voice and right hand, as well as the sword coming out of His mouth, are just figures of speech and not to be taken literally." If that were the case, then the island of Patmos is figurative, John is figurative, the whole vision is figurative and the book itself is figurative and the result would be that we would end up with nothing. Do not join those who would phantomize God Almighty, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. There is one blessed and supreme fact concerning the Revelation of God as recorded in the Bible. This is a historical and documented account given by God to man. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are real.
Here we have the historical, literal account of the Son of God as the Son of Man on the island of Patmos with John, the beloved apostle, and His right hand resting upon John. And John felt His right hand, knew that it was His right hand and described it as His right hand. And He said to John, "Fear not. I am the first and the last. I am He that liveth. I became dead. . ." (rather than was dead). "I voluntarily offered up My life; no man could take it from Me. I became dead. Now I am alive forevermore." The One who became dead is alive forevermore. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. The body of flesh and bones became dead, but that body of flesh and bones became alive forevermore. He is alive today. How we need to pray to God for childlike faith to believe the Word of God and accept it for what it is, the Word of God. On the island of Patmos John saw Jesus; John saw the Son of Man. Jesus is the name of His humanity; Son of Man is the name of His humanity. Christ is the name of His deity. Today He is Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God. Today He is the one Mediator between God and man, The Man Christ Jesus. After Jesus ascended into heaven in His body of flesh and bones, He revealed Himself in that body unto Stephen; four different times He revealed Himself unto Paul. Now we read of the revelation of Jesus in His body of flesh and bones to John on the island of Patmos. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, dying for the sin of the world, rising again and ascending on high, from whence we look for Him.
ISRAEL’S RESURRECTION
"Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, 0 my people: and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come out of your graves. 0 my people! And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, said the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:12-14).
Note here-the whole house of Israel-not the church, not Christians, not the New Testament saints-but the whole house of Israel-those Jews who died in the faith, those Jews who had not been cut off from among the people of Israel, will come out of their graves. Israel thinks of her departed loved ones as "dried up," "hope lost," "clean cut off." They think that the promises to Abraham have failed, that neither he nor Isaac, nor Jacob, nor his descendants will possess the land promised to them. But look! Their graves are to be opened. Allover the world this will be done. God will open every grave of every Old Testament saint who died in the faith and raise that Jew up from the dead. Do not phantomize this Scripture-do not try to explain it away, but read it and believe it. Look at God’s promise: "open your graves; cause you to come up out of your graves; when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves." Here we have GRAVES in the plural four times, and it means resurrection from earthly graves, just as it says. The innumerable literal graves of deceased Jews or Israelites who died in the faith will be opened, for only they are reckoned to be Israel. Some expositors say that GRAVES mean the nations of the world whither the Jews have been scattered. If that is true then Matthew 27:52-53 would have to mean, "The nations where many of the saints were living opened their doors and let the saints who lived there leave and return to Jerusalem from the nations where they lived after Christ arose from the dead and were seen by many who lived in Jerusalem." But that is not what it says. It says, "And the GRAVES were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the GRAVES after His resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many."
What God has promised to Israel is the RESURRECTION of all true Israelites, and He emphasizes it four times. Remember: GRAVES, GRAVES, GRAVES, GRAVES. That means individuals, the bodies of these Jews raised-earthly bodies going back to an earthly land, even Palestine, to be fed as an earthly people and to live as an earthly people. THE JEWS ARE GOD’S EARTHLY PEOPLE, even as the New Testa- ment saints are His heavenly people. The New Testament saints will rise from their graves and the living will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. They will appear with Him in varying capacities, ruling or ruled, as the judgment seat of Christ will reveal, according to their works, (Luke 19:11-27). But the New Testament saints do not appear in the prophecies which concern the resurrection, regeneration and restoration of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen EARTHLY NATION.
God has promised resurrected and restored Israel many things:
1. To have them dwell securely in their own land (Ezekiel 11:17-19; Ezekiel 28:25-26; Ezekiel 34:25-28).
2. To cleanse them (Ezekiel 37:23; Ezekiel 36:24-26).
3. To give them a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).
4. To give them a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26).
5. Cause them to walk in His statutes (Ezekiel 36:27; Ezekiel 37:24 b). The land from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates was given to Abraham and HIS SEED for an everlasting possession (Genesis 15:18). God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and HIS SEED that the land from the Nile River (the River of Egypt) was to be an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:7-8). For these promises to be fulfilled, Israel must be resurrected as an EARTHLY PEOPLE and be RESTORED TO AN EARTHLY LAND for an eternal possession. God confirmed this covenant with Isaac: "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for unto thee and unto they seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make they seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 26:3-4). God confirmed this covenant with Jacob: "And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 28:13-14). Note especially Genesis 35:9-12 : "And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Padanaram, and blessed him. And God said unto him: thy name shall not be called anymore Jacob, but Israel shall be they name: and He called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land."
Joseph had his brethren promise him that they would carry his bones with them when they left Egypt and returned to the land, saying, "God will surely visit you and bring you up out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." The land was made for Israel and Israel was made for the land, and God will raise them up to possess that land as an earthly people in an earthly land. The Talmud of the Jews teaches that if a Jew dies in the Land of Israel he will be saved. If he dies out of the land he is to be buried with a wooden fork so that he may dig his way from the place of burial to the Land of Israel. If they but believed the Word of the Lord, they would know that salvation to them before Christ was by believing God (Romans 4:1-3), and that no matter where they died and were buried, God will raise their bodies up and restore them to their land for an everlasting possession along with those who will be gathered out of the nations when Jesus returns.