Listen! John first hears a voice, and that not a whisper, but a great voice as of a trumpet. It is the Lord announcing Himself as “the First and the Last.” Do we thus own Jesus the eternal God? He commands him to write what he sees and send it to the seven churches of Asia. When John turned to see the voice that spoke, he saw a remarkable sight: “seven golden lampstands,” and One like the Son of Man in the midst of them. Have you ever seen Jesus, the true center of the Church of God in its completeness? What is your center? Is it Jesus?

If we look awhile at the Lord as thus revealed, we shall observe He is not now before us so much as a Savior, but as a Judge. But how can we look at Him in this character if we have not first known Him as the one who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood? And if washed from our sins, are we able to bear the eyes as a flame of fire, from which nothing can be hid? The servant John said, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” Yes, he needed to hear those words of comfort, words which took him back to the day of the Lord’s resurrection: “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead.”

Look at this revelation of Jesus; look at Him as “the Ancient of days” of Daniel, clothed with judicial robes; girt with divine righteousness: nothing hid from His eyes; His own walk brightest holiness; a voice that shall be heard; the right of administration in His own hands; power to execute judgment; His countenance of majesty, supremacy, and strength.