Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are four appearances of Jesus in the glory in Revelation 1:13-16 as follows.
ad. 1. The appearance of Jesus in the glory as the High Priest.
Revelation 1:13
1:13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands Onelike the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
The signs are as follows.
The spiritual meanings of being girded about the chest with a golden band are as follows.
Thus, the belt that girds the chest of the High Priest means love and righteousness, love and faithfulness, love and obedience.
If we serve God with love and righteousness, love and faithfulness, love and obedience, our position is as a baby leaning on His bosom.
Isaiah 49:14-16
49:14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”
49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
49:16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls arecontinually before Me.
The results are as follows.
God blesses us.
There are four appearances of Jesus in the glory in Revelation 1:13-16 as follows.
- [verse 13] as the High Priest.
- [verse 14] as the King of all kings.
- [verse 15] as the Just Judge.
- [verse 16] as the Heavenly Bridegroom.
ad. 1. The appearance of Jesus in the glory as the High Priest.
Revelation 1:13
1:13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands Onelike the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
The signs are as follows.
- Being clothed with a garment down to the feet.
- Being girded about the chest with a golden band.
The spiritual meanings of being girded about the chest with a golden band are as follows.
- Love and righteousness, love and faithfulness.
Isaiah 11:5
11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
The band or the belt refers to righteousness and faithfulness.
The chest refers to love.
We, as the priests or servants of God, must serve with the love and righteousness together with love and faithfulness.- Love and righteousness equal to righteousness received from forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus. The process is we must confess our sins honestly by the encouragement of the Word and Holy Spirit. Thus, the blood of Jesus forgives all our sins and justifies us, so we can live in righteousness and hold fast to the true teaching Word.
Ephesians 4:15
4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
We must hold fast love and righteousness. It means we must hold fast to the forgiveness of our sins. We do not repeat the sins; we forgive and forget the others’ sins and we do not judge nor blame the others.
If we hold fast love and righteousness, we will grow up into Jesus as the Head. We place Him as the Head and we become His body. Jesus as the Head will be responsible for all our needs, physically and spiritually.
2 Peter 1:9
1:9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
But if one does not hold fast the love and righteousness, meaning repeating the sin and living in it, he will be blind and live in the darkness of sin up to its peak, that is sin concerning eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage. This kind of life is directed to the building of the body of Babylon. - Love and faithfulness means faithfulness encouraged by eternal love, so it cannot be blocked nor disturbed by anything else, even the death.
Acts 20:19-20,24
20:19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews;
20:20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,
20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul the apostle serves with love and faithfulness. The signs are as follows.- Serving with all humility. It means we always feel unworthy, powerless, and can do nothing. Thus, we never rely on something from this world or ourselves, but we fully depend on the mercy from God.
Faithfulness will cover all our weakness and erase our tears so we are joyful.
Humility also means we serve God without any demands. We serve without any profits but only to do our obligation to God. As the result, God never fools us because our rights and reward are in His hands, either for our present life or the eternal one.
Isaiah 49:3-4
49:3 “And He said to me, ‘You areMy servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’
49:4 Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.’” - Serving with many tears, meaning with willingness to experience flesh suffering because of ministering God. It has the same value as John the apostle who is exiled to Patmos Island.
Serving with many tears also means ministering God with sincere heart. - Serving until we finish the race, meaning being faithful and fervent in spirit in ministering God up to the end line, that is until we die or until Jesus second coming, until forever.
- Serving with all humility. It means we always feel unworthy, powerless, and can do nothing. Thus, we never rely on something from this world or ourselves, but we fully depend on the mercy from God.
- Love and righteousness equal to righteousness received from forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus. The process is we must confess our sins honestly by the encouragement of the Word and Holy Spirit. Thus, the blood of Jesus forgives all our sins and justifies us, so we can live in righteousness and hold fast to the true teaching Word.
- Love and obedience.
Acts 21:10-14
21:10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
21:11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his ownhands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver himinto the hands of the Gentiles.’”
21:12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.
21:13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
21:14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
The belt refers to obedience.
The chest refers to love.
If we serve God with love and obedience, we can love Him more than everything and love the others as loving ourselves; even we can love our enemies. We can obey and do God’s commands whatever the risks we face, whatever we must sacrifice. There is only one thing that must not be sacrificed, that is the true teaching Word, because it is Jesus Himself.
A disobedient life will be used by Satan to block and destroy the body of Christ.
Matthew 7:21
7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Love and obedience open the door of the Heaven. It means the doors in the world will also be opened. Our problems will be solved and we receive beautiful future.
Thus, the belt that girds the chest of the High Priest means love and righteousness, love and faithfulness, love and obedience.
If we serve God with love and righteousness, love and faithfulness, love and obedience, our position is as a baby leaning on His bosom.
Isaiah 49:14-16
49:14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”
49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
49:16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls arecontinually before Me.
The results are as follows.
- The merciful hands of God are able to care and protect us in the middle of all difficulties in this world, until the day of antichrist, and until eternal life.
- The merciful hands of God are able to bear all our weariness, heavy burden, and tears, so we live in peace.
- The merciful hands of God are able to do and think everything that a baby cannot. God is always ready to solve all our problems, even the impossible ones, right on His time.
- The merciful hands of God are able to use our life in building the wall of the New Jerusalem, that is building the perfect body of Christ.
- The merciful hands of God are able to sanctify and renew our life until we are as perfect as Him and worthy to enter the New Jerusalem, together with Him forever.
Revelation 21:12
21:12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the namesof the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
God blesses us.