Christ is the wonderful One. By reading Revelation, especially the first three chapters, we can see what a wonderful One He is. In chapter one we see Him as the Son of Man. He is the Son of Man, but He is not only the Son of Man. Let us read this description of Him. “And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts 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. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am the living one, and was dead: and, behold, I am living forevermore; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev. 1:13-18, Gk.).
In this description of Christ, we see that His hair is white as snow. And His garment is a long robe going down to His feet. This is something that covers His whole body. His eyes are like flaming fire, and His face is like the shining of the sun. There is no night with Him. Within His mouth there is a two-edged sword, and His two feet are as burning brass. Have you ever seen such a one? Yet He is called the Son of Man. According to the Bible, His garment is a priest’s garment. In the Bible, all the priests must wear long robes (Exo. 28:1-2, 4-5). Here His girdle is not at the loins, but at the breast. When He washed the feet of the disciples, He girded His loins. Now His girdle is on His breast. It is quite meaningful. This means that His work is over, but He still has a heart of concern. What is He concerned about? He is concerned about the churches.
In the Old Testament, the priests did four main things. They offered the sacrifices, arranged the showbread, dressed the lamps, and burned the incense. To dress the lamps included two things. First they had to fill the lamps with oil, and then they had to snuff the wick. To snuff the wick means to cut off the burned part of the wick. We know that the sacrificial work of Christ was accomplished on the cross. Now He is not at the altar, but among the lampstands. He no longer needs to offer the sacrifices, but He does need to dress the lampstands by filling them with oil and snuffing the burnt wick. He still has a heart of concern to care for all the shining lampstands. He is the Priest to supply the oil and to snuff the waste. He is doing this today among the churches. The main point here is that Christ is revealed as such a priestly Person caring for the churches.
After Revelation chapter one, Christ is revealed in chapters two and three as so many things. But in His speaking to the churches He is especially revealed as the tree of life and the hidden manna. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God....He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it” (Rev. 2:7, 17). Both the tree of life and the hidden manna are just Christ Himself. As the Priest with the heart of concern, He is among the churches. But as the tree of life and the hidden manna, He is the food for the overcomers. Christ as such a wonderful Person has at least two aspects. The first is the priestly aspect. Today He is our High Priest, walking among the churches, supplying the oil and snuffing the waste to make all the churches shining. Hallelujah for such a Person! The second aspect is that He is the supply to all the individual overcomers. He is the tree of life and the hidden manna for the overcomers to eat. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat....” It is not to learn, but to eat! We must eat Him as the tree of life and the hidden manna. He is the priestly Person taking care of His shining churches, and He is the life supply to all the overcomers. While He is walking among the churches, He is feeding us. We can eat Him as our life supply.
Such a Christ is revealed to us as the Son of Man. He really is the Son of Man, and He will be such for eternity. He is the mingling of divinity with humanity. He is a man, but this man is very ancient. He is ancient, but He is not old. His white hair does not signify His oldness but His ancientness. He is eternally ancient. He is the One in the beginning without a beginning. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:1, 14, Recovery Version). This is the Son of Man. He was in the beginning that did not have a beginning. Jesus, the Man of Nazareth, is ancient. This is God Himself. In the Bible He is called the Ancient of days (Dan. 7:9, 13, 22). He is the Son of Man, yet He is shown to be the eternal God.