After studying the book of Revelation again and again, I have discovered that it contains twenty-six items of what the Son is. Since there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, we may say that Christ is every letter from A to Z. He is useful for composing any word. Do you want to compose the word light? He is l, i, g, h, and t. Would you like to compose the word love? He is l, o, v, and e. With Christ we can compose any positive thing. After we have the words, we have sentences, paragraphs, and chapters, and once we have the chapters, we have the whole Bible. The entire Bible is composed with Christ. Let us now briefly consider each of the twenty-six aspects of Christ found in Revelation.
The Son is Jesus Christ. Jesus is Jehovah the Savior, and Christ is the One anointed of God to carry out God’s economy.
The Son is the faithful Witness (1:5; 3:14). He is God’s Witness. Although He is God, He is also the Witness of God. Without Him, we cannot know, see, or gain God. God is testified by Him.
The Son is the Firstborn of the dead (1:5). In the universe, God has two creations: the creation by His first work and the creation by His second work. We all know God’s first creation, but not many of us are familiar with His second creation. God’s second work is resurrection. Firstly, God created all existing things; secondly, He resurrected some of these existing things and brought them into another sphere, another realm, which is the realm of resurrection. Are we in God’s first creation or in His second creation? While our body remains in God’s first creation, our spirit is in His second creation. Our spirit has been regenerated. This means that it has been recreated. Hence, it belongs to God’s second creation. In both of God’s creations, Christ is the first. Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, and in Revelation 1:5 we are told that He is the Firstborn of the dead. He was the first to be resurrected from the dead, and we shall follow Him. Here the phrase the Firstborn of the dead indicates the creation of God in resurrection. This signifies a new beginning. In God’s first creation there was a beginning, and in God’s second creation in resurrection there was another beginning. When we were regenerated, we experienced a new beginning in God’s second creation.
The Son is the Ruler of the kings of the earth (1:5). Although the Communists are against Christ, they use His calendar without realizing that they are doing so. According to history, the one whose calendar you use is the one to whom you are in subjection. If any used the calendar of a certain king, he would have to be under the rule of that king. In like manner, the Communists are under Jesus Christ because they use His calendar. They call it the international calendar, but actually it is the calendar of Christ. In this way they unconsciously admit that He is their Ruler. In the universe, there is one unique Ruler. All mankind today uses the calendar of Christ and is under His rule. All the people on earth are His people, and He is the Ruler of all nations. Jesus might say to the Communists, “You are opposing Me, but I will cause you to be My people. I will cause you to use My calendar, and you will have no choice about being under My rule. I am the unique Ruler of the earth.”
The Son is the Son of God (2:18). As the Son of God, He is God Himself. He is the true God with divinity.
The Son is also the Son of Man (1:13). As the Son of Man, He is a genuine man with humanity. He is both the very God and the proper man.