Rev.1:12-15 – And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
This was the beginning of John’s revelation of Jesus Christ. John had walked with Him as a man for three years. He was an eye witness of the miracles, the teaching, the crucifixion and saw Jesus several times after the resurrection. Of all the people on earth John knew Jesus possibly better than anyone. The last time John has seen the Lord was at the Mount of Olives when Jesus ascended into heaven. Many years later John was in exile on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the gospel. When he saw Jesus on the beach that day he saw Him in a brand new way. This time Jesus appeared as the Heavenly High Priest, the role He has been fulfilling since He ascended into heaven. Here is how Barclay describes this scene.
“All this means that the description of the robe and the girdle of the glorified Christ is almost exactly that of the clothes of the priests and of the high priest. Here, then, is the symbol of the high priestly character of the work of the risen Lord. A priest, as the Jews saw it, was a man who himself has access to God and who opens the way for others to come to him; even in the heavenly places, Jesus, the great high priest, is still carrying on his priestly work, opening the way for all to the presence of God.”
This is still the role Jesus is fulfilling at the end of the church age. He is the Minister of the Sanctuary calling all of us to draw near into His presence to find find mercy and grace in our time of need. Jesus is our Mediator, Intercessor, Advocate and Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Come near to Him today by His blood and He will fill you again and again with His Spirit.
