In an act of supreme sacrifice, Jesus of Nazareth gave His life for
all mankind. Yet the grave couldn't hold Him; He rose to life everlasting.
What is He like today?
The apostle John was given a vision of the resurrected, glorified
Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:12-18: "I turned around to see the voice
that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
and among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in
a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
"His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze
glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing
waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth
came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining
in all its brilliance.
"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed
his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and
the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive
for ever and ever!'" (NIV).
Jesus now lives forever as an eternal, immortal spirit being. John
also tells us that His faithful followers, in the resurrection, will
be like Him- "and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies
himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).
Jesus now sits at the right hand of God the Father "with angels, authorities
and powers in submission to him" (1 Peter 3:22, NIV). He is the living,
active, Head of His Church (Colossians 1:18), and as "the firstborn
among many brethren" (Romans 8:29) He continually helps bring others
to salvation in God's family.
