Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 1:17-18 - Jesus UnLike Any Other

Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 1:17-18 - Jesus UnLike Any Other

As we move backwards through Revelation, we find chapter one full of 3’s. I’ll combine a few of these.

Rev. 1:17   “Fear not, I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Jesus states three unique things about Himself as Son of God, that clearly set Him apart from any other man, even the greatest of men. 

“I am the First and the Last.” That is, Jesus in His divine nature as the Son of God is eternal. He was always the Son of God. Even when He took on human flesh and was named Jesus, He was still the Son of God. His existence as Son of God was uninterrupted. He continues to be Son of God, still clothed in flesh, and coming again in physical form, and will always be Son of God.

He shares this quality of eternality with the Father. Verse 8 says:

Rev. 1:8   “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The idea of it is difficult, even impossible, for our minds to contain. We think in terms of cumulative years, and infinite numbers stump us. But this eternality, in my understanding, stands above and over time. It helps to explain how God has always been, but He is not old.

I am “the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore,” The Son of God, along with the Father and  the Spirit, were all involved in creation. Together, they are “the author of life.” But this phrase tells us something more. We know that death entered the created order through Adam’s sin. So not only is the Son of God the creator of life; He is also the defeater of death. There is now nothing that threatens life, eternal life, for believers in Jesus Christ, because death has been vanquished.

“I have the keys of Death and Hades.” In addition, He is our Savior, but He is also the Judge. He has authority. He has “the keys.” And those who find their salvation in Him will receive, as a gift, eternal life. Those who choose to seek salvation in something/someone else will receive the “wage” of their actions, thus, Death and Hades. Temporal despots may spare or kill. But only the Son of God has authority over eternal life or eternal death.

Earlier in Revelation 1, we have another set of 3 that seems to correspond with this set:

Rev. 1:8 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

Jesus Christ can be the faithful witness, because of His eternality. There is nothing that He has missed. He is not a second-hand witness to anything. He is the firstborn from the death, the only One raised who will never die again. As the ruler of the kings of the earth, He has absolute authority.

Jesus Christ is truly unique among (or, above) men. He alone is the God-Man. He alone is able to be our Savior, who can truly save, and fulfill all the promises of God.