Week 51 Revelation
John was living on an island when the visions of Revelation came to him. He says that one Sunday he heard a voice behind him and when he turned he saw: seven golden lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was the Son of Man.
John couldn’t describe the Son of Man in normal terms. He had to revert to approximation language:
…white like wool
…white as snow
…like flames of fire
…bright as refined bronze
…like ocean waves
…bright as the sun.
Basically he was awestruck…mentally-unhitched…physically-undone. He was so high on the Discomposure Scale that he says: when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
I remember Isaiah’s reaction when he saw the Lord. He said: my destruction is sealed. I remember Ezekiel’s reaction when the Lord appeared: when I saw (him) I fell face down in the dust. I remember Daniel’s post-vision reaction: I…was terrified by my thoughts and my face was pale with fear.
Two things register:
a) sometimes a personal connection with the Lord is comforting (for instance I remember the boy Samuel in the tabernacle in the dead of night. I remember the gently blowing wind of Elijah. I remember Mary meeting Jesus in the garden.)
b) other times it isn’t.
Note: quotes from Revelation 1:12-13, 14-17; Isaiah 6:5; Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel 7:28 (NLT). The other stories are from 1 Samuel 3:1-10; 1 Kings 19:11-12; John 20:11-18.