Jesus as the high priestly king is in the midst of his congregations.

I saw “in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest (Revelation 1:13).

Christ gives us his closeness. We live by the mystery of his immediate presence. This is the hidden strength in all our powerlessness.

The term “Son of Man” (Revelation 1:13) means “as a human being.” It is Jesus’ own designation in the Gospel of John, chapter 1.

He refers to Daniel 7:13-14 “With the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, … to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve (Heb. also worship) him”.

John writes in Revelation 1:4-5, “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 and from Jesus Christ”.

John speaks of the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. The goal of their revelation is: grace and divine peace.

The seven spirits or: “the sevenfold spirit” remind of Isaiah 11:2: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”

The spirit has seven names: the spirit of Yahweh, of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of might, of knowledge, and of the fear of God.

Seven again means a full whole. The Holy Spirit in all its fullness.

It is important to John that we first see that the Revelation is about divine grace and peace. God is trying to win back lost human beings for a life with him.

The clue of the Revelation is that John does not philosophize but writes what he sees and hears.

When our ears open and we begin to hear and understand what God wants to say to us, a great change is starting in our lives.

We get a new perspective. We recognize that God loves us and have good thoughts about us. Whoever reads the revelation with this view discovers in her a God who fights for people. Who wants to move them to repentance and insight in every conceivable way.

The book is to be read in the congregation (Revelation 1:3) so that people on the Jesus path receive comfort and confidence and focus on Jesus.

The last book of the Bible is not proposed for developing entire end-time concepts from individual statements, but for reading and hearing the whole context.

Nor is the Revelation written for everyone. In chapter 1:11 it says: ” Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches“.

It is written to people who want to get involved with God. People who align themselves with God and want to understand the Bible.

Seven communities are named. There were also other communities in the area such as Hierapolis or Colossae. The number seven is not restrictive, but stands for a completed, fulfilled whole. A book for all churches of all times.

John sees pictures, visions of things that will happen in the future. Therefore, he also uses expressions that appear in other prophetic books. If we would see the same vision today, we might would use different words. Sometimes he uses symbolic descriptions or synonyms, which again we need to break down. But then he also hears messages that were said to him.

John was silenced by the Romans with banishment to the island of Patmos.

From God’s perspective, however, this is a time that will bless future generations by write him a book (Revelation 1:11,19).

Jesus reveals to the disciple John what is about to happen (Revelation 1:1). The Greek word for soon can also mean quickly or suddenly. So when everything gets rolling, it’s going to happen in quick succession. It is important that we do not lose heart, because the message is:

I have everything under control and will fulfill and complete everything.

Many blames God for not intervening enough in world affairs. But when God intervenes as described in Revelation, it is sobering to see people rebelling against God. To the end, many people decide against God.

Yet God carries out His plan by meeting the needs of all who receive Him.

The view of heaven through revelation encourages not to lose hope in the current situation and to hold on to God.

The book of Revelation is difficult to understand by reading first time. In fact, over time, we keep discovering new connections and clues.

The first impression is, there is much judgment and suffering. But on a closer view, we discover a loving God who wants to encourage people to turn around by several ways and save them from final destruction.

But the people do not want to get involved with God and gets more and more trapped in his rebellion against God.

At Easter, Christians remember that Jesus overcame death.

According to what is probably the earliest Christian creed, Jesus was raised from the dead on “the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6): “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

A whole series of facts indicate that the resurrection of Jesus really took place.

1. The empty Tomb: The Jewish High Council and the Romans could not shown the body of Jesus, although they would have liked to do.

2. Paul refers to more than 500 persons to whom the risen Christ appeared in the flesh (1 Corinthians 15:6). Many are still alive at the time of the statement.

3. The “absurdity” of the message. At first the disciples themselves did not believe in the resurrection. Since they cover the resurrection, they could easily have been refuted had the body and its tomb been known, as with other prophets.

4. Only when they met the risen Christ did the disciples stop being afraid of the threatened death. Many of them paid for it with their lives – including Jesus’ brother (as reported by the non-Christian Josephus). Who would do that for a story of their own making?

5. An extremely dynamic movement that began directly on the spot and at the time of the event, which after 30 years was put into the shoes of Rome, which after 300 years had conquered the entire Mediterranean area against massive resistance and forced the Roman emperor to make Christianity the state religion.

6. Of course you can question everything. So you can question every person in the story and claim that a circle of people just made up these stories. This applies to all prophets, founders of religions and philosophers. Are there detailed reports from these people, as is repeatedly demanded of Christians? Jesus and his movement are mentioned in the Talmud as well as in other books.

7. Apart from that, Jesus keeps appearing to people all over the world.