What happened when John saw Jesus in Revelation.

Rev 1:17-18

John tells us what happened to him when he saw Jesus.

First of all, John did see Him in this vision given to him by God.

Secondly, John fell down as dead. He was so impacted by what he saw, it was like it took the life out of him, and he lay at the feet of Jesus like a dead person.

Thirdly, at this point, Jesus took and laid His right hand upon John, and spoke to him in the following way.  "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

It is interesting and encouraging to me, to hear these words, "Do not be afraid" It seems that this is one of God's most commonly made statements to His people, through both the Old and the New testaments. And, it would seem that the reason for his repeated statement by God, is that His people were afraid. They were in some situation that brought fear into their lives. Fear can render a person paralyzed as it were. It can make them unable to move about in life as they ought to and would like to.

And, it's also interesting to see the reason behind this statement by the Lord to John. It was Christ's own declaration of who He is, and who He was, and who He will be. It's what He is. He is God, and as God He is eternal. He was here long before any situation that has come about and is upon someone. And, He will be here long after that situation is a thing of the forgotten past.

He is God. I am alive He says to John, and to you and me. I'm eternal, I'm here, I'm the giver of life. In fact, beyond those truths, here is something else. I am the Lord of Lords I hold the keys of Hades and of Death. Hades is a place of punishment for those who choose to reject God's love and grace.
And, death, is that reality of separation from God. It's the separation that Christ came to remove.

He is the bridge between sinful man, and Holy God. He is the door, He is the way, He is the truth, He is the life. No man can come to the Father but by and through Him

Anyone can receive Him, and if they do, He will make them a child of God.

Well, more tomorrow.
May God's blessings be upon you today

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

How Jesus looked........and looks today

See Revelation, 1:14-16

1:14
His head, hair and eyes are described here. First of all, it's important to realize that what John was seeing was indeed, the actual person of Jesus Christ, in His current state. This is what He will look like when we see Him. This is how He looks at this moment, seated at the right hand of God.

Three things here. Head, hair and eyes. Both His head and hair are said to be "white like wool" Speaking of, or reminding us of His spotlessness, and His purity. He is the pure, righteous one, in whom there is no sin. His eyes were like " a flame of fire" This speaks of power. Fire gives light, and is powerful. Jesus is the light of the world of course, and is the most powerful person we know. He is pure, and He is powerful.

1:15a
Now, to His feet. "like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace" Brass is commonly seen throughout the Bible, and is often associated with the judgment of God. God has judged our sins at the cross, and they are now gone and forgotten. Jesus will bring judgement when He comes again.
The pure, powerful, judge is the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:15b
His "voice as the sound of many waters" John was trying to describe what His voice sounded like.
We will one day hear for ourselves, but here it's said to be like "Many waters" Or a massive and powerful roar. That's what we hear when we are near the ocean, and the waves are coming upon the shore. There is a tremendous and powerful sound. A roaring.

1:16a
Here's what He had in His right hand. Seven Stars. The stars here in this section of Rev, seem to speak of the leaders in the churches. And, here we see that they are being held by Jesus Christ. What a comforting and encouraging thought to know that they are in His hands. If you are a leader in the church ( in fact, every christian can say this about themselves ) they are in the hands of Jesus Christ. He has a firm grip on you.

1:16b
Out of His mouth "went a sharp two-edged sword" This again is John's description of seeing and hearing Jesus talk. Swords are used both defensively, and offensively. Jesus is the Word of God. He is our defender, and He is our victor in battle over the enemy of our soul. His Word cuts and pierces to the depths of our being. His Word is creative, it's powerful to destroy. We have heard His voice in the Holy Bible, and we will one day hear it with our own ears right in His visible presence. We will hear Him speak to us personally, and throughout all of eternity. For all we know, we may have what would be very private and personal conversations with Him, where we become very familiar with the sound of His voice.

1:16c
The last thing in this verse, "His countenance was like sun shining in it's strength" Very massive, and encompassing is what the sun is like. You walk outside, and the sun is so powerful you can't even look directly at it, and in a sense you don't have to, to be affected by it. It light's up the world, at least the half that is in the daylight time. Countenance, is a word in the Bible speaks of the  face, or the outward appearance, the look. So, this is what the look of Jesus will be like, or when we look at Him, it will be bright like the sun.


There are numerous things that have already been said about Him, and will be said throughout this letter. These are but glimpses of what He looks like. John was affected by what He saw, as we will see in our study tomorrow. We are affected by seeing Him through the eyes of faith.
Seeing Him, leads to the transformation of our lives.

As we read the Bible, we see God revealed to us. The book of Revelation, is just that, an unveiling, a revealing of Jesus Christ. He is pure, powerful, piercing and is the Lord of Lord's. He is coming back to the earth, bringing judgement upon it, and then will rule on it for 1000 years, before taking us into the eternal future with Him.

May God's grace, mercy, peace and love be multiplied in our lives this very day.
In Jesus name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

Rev 1:10-13......Hearing God's voice and finding His help.

See Revelation 1:10-13......the scriptures are down at the very bottom of this page.

The Lord's day in the NT is a Sunday. So, it was on a Sunday, and John heard what seemed like a loud trumpet behind him, only it was a voice.

And, the voice said, " I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last" Here the Lord is identifying Himself as being God, the eternal one, the start and the finish if you will. The Greek alphabet starts with Alpha and ends with Omega.

The Lord went on to tell John, what you see, ( and of course, John was being given this vision, ) write it in a book, and then send it to the seven churches which are located in what would be modern day Turkey.

So, what we have written down for us in this book known as "The Book of Revelation" is a record in great detail of what John was given to see by God.

It was at this moment that John turned to see the voice that was speaking with him. Thus what had happened was just like when someone comes up behind you and starts talking, and you hear them, and you then turn around to see the person who is talking to you, That's what John did, and what we have next, is what John saw.

By the way, sometimes God speaks to us in a very direct, focused, distinct manner also. And, we hear Him, and we can turn to Him as it were, and we can see Him ( by faith ) and we can focus our lives upon Him, and seek to understand Him etc, etc. He is speaking, and wants to speak to us today, and every day, and He wants us to know Him.

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of them was "One like the Son of Man "
The lampstand was used in the OT to symbolize the nation of Israel's function of being a light. Lamps give light, and the lampstands ( 7 of the ) represent the 7 churches mentioned, and the 7 churches represented are also believed to represent the complete period of the churches history, from start to finish. So, Christ is in His church.

The Son of Man, Jesus Christ was clothed with a garment down to His feet. He was completely clothed if you will. And, We are completely clothed with His righteous also. What He is, we are. He is holy, and so are we. He is God Son, and we are also God's children, He is accepted by God and so are we, etc, etc.

He also had a golden band that He was girded with. This band was around His chest. What could this possibly mean, or symbolize? Gold is a favorite color of the Lord. He used it in the OT creation of the Tabernacle, and the Temple. It's used as pavement in heaven for the main street that runs through heaven. But, here it is upon or around the chest of Jesus. Girding in the NT was used to help make movement easier. One would gird or pull up their robe and tuck it in under the belt and thus be more able to move and to walk to work and to run, to fight etc. So, it was function you might say.

It's possible that this might speak of the function and help that God has for each of us. He wants to gird us up day by day, to help us in whatever we do. He has and does provide all the heavenly resources we need in order to function in His will for us.

One other thing about this robe. It reminds of the priests and the judges in the OT among God's people. Jesus is of course the High Priest of our faith, and He is the Judge into whose hands all judgment has been committed.

A few other devotional/applicational thoughts.

1. The Lord's day is a great day to hear God's Voice.
2. We gather to worship in song, to fellowship, and to hear His Word.
3. He wants us to see Him, and hear Him.
4. Strength is given to us by God's Holy Spirit.
5. He has work for us to do.
6. We are running in a race to heaven if you will.
7. God's strength and power make it easier to walk, work, run, and battle.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

1:11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

1:13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

Gleanings from Jude.......

Here are some short little thoughts by way of explanation and application taken from the epistle of Jude.

1:1
Families can serve the Lord together. Jude was the half brother of Jesus, and full brother of James, who led the church in Jerusalem. Let's pray that this year, families would come together serving the Lord.

1:2.
God never forgets His mercy, peace and love towards us. We have them from Him, and can have them day by day till we get to heaven

1:3
Being led by God is His will. Jude was intending to write about one important subject, but was compelled to write about something else. While Jude did not specify that the Lord was leading him to write about what he did, I believe it's there in the background. The Holy Spirit was leading Jude, and he was responding. May it be so Lord in our lives as well.

1:4
There is a real demonic enemy who creeps into the church from time to time. These enemies are in league with Satan himself, and they seek to pervert and destroy the work of God in the lives of christians. They take God's precious truth and twist it around to suit their own fleshly and ungodly desires and ways. O Lord, protect us from them.

1;5
Being reminded of what we know already is a common way for the Lord to encourage us. It's what Jude was doing here. His readers were well steeped in the truth of the OT stories, ( They aren't just stories of course, but records of God's dealings with Israel and others ) But, they knew these accounts, and were able to see the truths of these accounts applied in their situation currently. Lord, may we this coming year, grow in our knowledge of Your Word and be encouraged and built up in our faith.

1:6-7
God has and will judge the ungodly. We have a record of it right here in Jude. The Lord is the saviour at this time, but will be the judge in the days ahead when He returns to the earth. Oh Lord, save now we pray, and rescue the lost in our midst from the coming Judgement.

1:8-16
God explains in great and specific detail who these creepers into the church were, and what they were up to, and how they operated.
Try to count if you will the number of specifics that are given to us here about them. This is what is called ungodliness

1:17-25
Once again the memory is called to action. Simply, "remember the words spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" That's a reference to what we have by way of the NT today.
The NT is filled with Bible Prophecy about what was happening with these "creepers"

And, the NT is filled with encouragements about God's beloved as well. See if you can count up the many blessed exhortations and promises in the remaining verses in this letter, there are many of them.

Here's a sample......

1. You can be built up and made strong
2. You are beloved by God.
3. You have holy faith.
4. God will use and hear your prayers.
5. God loves you.
6. God's love is where He wants you to keep yourself. In His love
7. God has mercy.
8. God wants you to give you His mercy, and to look for it.
9. You now have eternal life ( union with God through Christ )
10. Be compassionate to the lost.
11. You are no longer headed to the lake of fire as are many today
12. God is able to keep and preserve you.
13. Jesus will present you one day to the Father.
14. May God receive all the glory in our lives.

There's actually more in those verses, but the sample above, was just that a sample. It's a rich section of Jude.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

Things we have in common with the apostle John and one another.

See Rev 1:9


1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John, introduces himself here as "your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" 

He is saying several things about himself to us. First of all, he is our brother and companion. While an apostle of the Lord, and while in this very special moment of revelation from God, there is a huge and appropriate attitude of humility, and of simple brotherhood if you will. He is just one of us, or just a simple, normal Christian. It's perhaps the next few things he says that are more dramatic and touching. 

Tribulation, kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. We do indeed share in these things with John, and he with us. They are common to all who are believers in Jesus Christ. 

First of all, tribulation, which means, affliction, trouble, anguish, persecution, burdened. It speaks of a pressing together, a pressing pressure. Being distressed, and in straits. 

That's what John was going through personally. And, he was identifying that that's what others go through as well. We are brothers and companions in tribulation if you will. 

Secondly, and this became a reality for us when we were saved, in fact, at the very moment of our being saved, we were brought into God's kingdom. There is only one other kingdom, and we were in that prior to salvation, we were by our natural birth in the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of darkness. But, moved into God's kingdom by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. That's our spiritual location if you will, with Him, and under His care and leadership. 

Thirdly, the patience of Jesus Christ. 

Patience, or endurance, or the ability from God to hang in there. It's that enduring patient waiting. It's being stedfast, and speaks of the man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith by even the greatest trials and sufferings. It's a sustaining perseverance. We share in this with John. 

Isn't it a blessing to know that God provides this for us, and produces this within us, He works this patience into our lives by faith in Him. He enables us to be patient. He causes us to to endure, to not go off course, but to just steady on with Him. 

Lastly, John tells us where he was, and why he was there. On the isle called Patmos, and it was for the Word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. He was on a little island, alone and desolate as it were, but God had a purpose in him being there. It was for two things. The Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

And so it is with God's people. We are where God has us, and perhaps it's also a lonely place, a place of seeming isolation, but, God is at work in His own purposes if we let Him. He wants to speak to us, through His Word, and He wants to use our lives as a testimony for His Son Jesus Christ. We become useful tools in the hands of God if we let Him have His way with us. 

God used John, and God will use us if we let Him. He wants to take our lives, and through His life giving Word, change us, and make our lives a bright testimony to others of the grace mercy and peace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

May it be so in each of our lives. 

Pastor Bob Grenier.

Calvary Chapel Visalia 

God's grace, and our future with Him.

See Revelation 1:4-8 directly below, and my comments following.

1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John was writing to the seven churches in Asia. These actual churches, located in modern Turkey, but have application to us today, ( which we will look at as we move through Revelation chapters 2-3 ) 

But, the message to the churches, starts off with "Grace to you and peace from Him etc," This is the lens through which God looks if you will. It's His grace, His unmerited favor, His blessing upon those who do not deserve it, but through Christ, God gives His blessings.


God's eternal nature is also described for us, He is, He was, and He is to come. Past, present and future. More to be said in just a verse or two.


Jesus Christ is said to be the faithful witness. Or the reliable witness, dependable. You can count on Him, in every way to be just who He says He is, and that He does just what He says He will do. And, He is the "firstborn from the dead" He is the primary example of what God does in the life of every person who puts their faith in Him. We go from death to life, and our own bodies will one day be raised from the dead, just as His was and is today. 


Christ is also the "true ruler over the kings of the earth" That is, in direct contradiction to the coming anti-christ, world ruler, who is demonically empowered, and is a deceiver, and is against God and against Christ, Jesus is indeed the true ruler over all etc.
He is even today, guiding the world just as He intends to. He is even today, working all things according to the purpose of His own will. 


About His love.......... To Him who "loved us" which of course He has, and has "washed us from our sins by His own blood" His love was shown to us at the cross. Only His blood could wash, that is to remove completely our sins from us. They are gone, and not remembered by God. 


Our future, is that we are made "kings and priests to His God etc" God has a glorious future in store for us, and we will see more of this later in Revelation. 


To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. He is the worthy one, and He is the ruler over all, now, and in the eternal future. Forever, and ever. It could not be said any plainer, or in language we can understand. Forever means, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, evermore. This is our future with God. It's forever, and ever. 


He is coming. That's the message of 1:7. The clouds may very well be referencing the fact of His bringing a great cloud of witnesses ( or His saved bride ) with Him when He comes back to the earth. Also, His coming again to the earth will be seen by everyone. How this could happen given the globe we live on, is something that only God could make happen, but He will.


Back to God's self-description. "I am the Alpha and the Omega" These are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. God's usage of them in describing Himself is very appropriate. Because He is the first and the last. He is un-created, and existed before anything and anyone did. 


"Who is to come" This is really the message of Revelation. For this book explains the events that lead up to His return to the earth, and even beyond that return, into the eternal future. 




Additional thoughts. 


1. God has grace and peace for you today.
2. Let's ask Him right now for them in abundance.
3. God has cleansed you from your sins. 
4. Your sins are gone because of Him. 
5. We have an eternal hope in Christ.
6. This world will one day pass away.
7. We will rule with Christ on this earth.
8. His kingdom will come. 
9. His will, will be one on earth, like in heaven.
10. He is the almigthy. He is able. 


Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia 

Revelation Chapter 1:1-3 God promises to bless you .

 See Rev 1:1-3 below........and, then my comments below the verses. 

1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,

1:2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Revelation, means unveiling. Like taking a sheet off that has been covering a statue, and pulling the sheet off to show what is there. This book is an uncovering of Jesus Christ. 

This uncovering if for His servants. This is for you as a Christian. God wants to show this to you.

The things He shows us in this book are the things which will take place as the future rolls on. So, God is going to reveal to us in this book what will happen in the future, right on up to the end of all things as we know it, and beyond. 

God gave this to Jesus to give to John, through His angel. It's a revealing to John, and then to us. 

There is a blessing promised here. See 1:3. The blessing is for those who will read this book, and for those who will hear what's said in this book, and for those who will keep the things that are written in it. The time for these things is near, or coming. ( The phrase, "the time is near" does not mean that these events were going to happen immediately upon their writing, but rather when they begin to happen, they would happen in pretty rapid order ) 

What an exciting time we are living in. This book will help unfold to us the plans that God has for the world. We are living in the last days. 

May I encourage you to read through the book of Revelation. And to enjoy these daily short little devotional commentary thoughts I'll post. 

We will be teaching through the book one chapter per Sunday, starting on Jan 8th. 

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia