Yesterday we considered the Apostle John's experience with Jesus during a time of personal prayer on the island of Patmos. Interestingly, some traditions say that John was exiled to Patmos after he survived being boiled in oil, but we won’t know if that’s true until we get to heaven. But what we do know is true is far more interesting—his graphic description of meeting Jesus. The Jesus he met on Patmos was very different from the one he had seen when he walked and talked with Jesus for three years. After seeing Jesus in his vision, he reacted by falling to the ground "like a dead man." Today, let's pick up where we left off:

When my eyes took in this sight I fell at his feet like a dead man. And then he placed his right hand upon me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the living one. I am he who was dead, and now you see me alive for timeless ages! I hold in my hand the keys of death and the grave. (Rev. 1:17-18)

When Jesus said He holds the keys of death and the grave, He wasn’t kidding. He was crucified, died and was placed into a tomb. Three days later, He raised Himself up from being dead and walked out, and for the next six weeks walked the earth again and taught on the Kingdom of God. Then, in full view of at least five hundred witnesses, He ascended to Heaven. I have always thought of the opening to a tomb as an entrance, but now we need to start thinking of it as an exit, as well. Here's what I mean: Jesus controls what happens to you and me on both sides of the grave. He didn’t get stuck on the cross and He didn’t get stuck in a tomb. He was dead but today He's alive and at work. If you think of Jesus merely as a wise man who went around speaking truth and trying to get people to believe in Him, your Jesus is too small. He's ruling the universe. He's the primary Creator, the only Redeemer, the First and the Last. He never gets older. He knows everything that’s been before and He never has anything new to learn.

Jesus is the Sovereign King of Everything...and that is very Good News!