◄ What Does Revelation 22:16 Mean? ►

The whole crux of God's plan of redemption, is that man sinned.. and the wages of sin is death, which speaks of man's spiritual separation from God, for all eternity. Death is the bitter fruit for all humanity, and there is no possible way for man to reach out and eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.

The only possible way for the Lord to forgive man's sin, is if a perfect, sinless man was prepared to give his own life, in exchange for the life of the sinner - as a payment for sin. For when the first man sinned, his fallen sin-nature was passed-on to ALL his progeny, which determined that ALL men are sinners. ALL fall short of God's perfection and so ALL come under the wrath of God, and His eternal condemnation - ALL need a Saviour.

Because of sin, there is no man who is perfect and sinless - so all mankind is eternally condemned. No wonder the apostle John wept so bitterly, in Revelation 4, when he realised that no man was good enough to open the scroll, to put things right.

Before man fell, Adam had been made in the image and likeness of God. Before man sinned, he was innocent, but after the fall, only God remained perfect and sinless. Only He was good enough to pay the price for man's sin. But God is spirit, and He is eternal. God was not made of mortal flesh. The Creator exists outside His physical realm, and only the shed blood of a perfect, innocent, sinless man, would satisfy God's wrath against humanities sin. Only the shed blood of a perfect, sinless Kinsman-Redeemer, could pay the enormous price for man's sin.

However, God in His omniscience knew before time that man would sin, and He purposed to save mankind from sin's inevitable consequences. He Himself would come to earth as a mortal Man. He would be born into the human race as a perfect Man, a pure Man, an innocent Man - a sinless Man. God would clothe Himself with human flesh. He would have human blood pulsing through His physical body - and as life is in the blood, He would give His life-blood as the ransom-price for mankind. He would willingly die to save mankind from eternal separation and condemnation of God, and He determined that His own death would be sufficient to pay the price for all sin.

And the whole beautiful but bloody story of man's fall from grace, and his final redemption, unfolds for our learning through the Scriptures. From Genesis to the Apocalypse, we discover God's perfect plan of Salvation. The final chapter of the story of redemption is written in the book of Revelation, where Jesus Christ the righteous God-Man, is fully and finally revealed. It is through His shed blood that mankind is redeemed - for we read, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you, these things for the Churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, and I am the bright morning star."

The eternal Son of God became the perfect Son of Man, Who alone could justifiably proclaim, "before Abraham was - I AM." He could therefore legitimately proclaim, "I AM the Root of David and I AM the Stem of David." Book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, God's perfect plan of redemption and His eternal purposes for mankind continued to unfold, until Jesus came in the likeness of human flesh. Jesus, the incarnate God, came to earth in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, to become the Propitiation for our sins.

As both God and Man, Christ could state, "I am the predecessor of David and I am the descendent of David." As the eternal God, Who became the perfect, sinless Man, Jesus could claim, "before David was, I existed as the eternal God - I am both the root of David and his descendent." And as the resurrected, righteous son of David, Jesus could equally declare, "and in ME is life everlasting for ALL who believe."

The Lord Jesus has many titles and many names, one of which is the Bright Morning Star. It is through Israel that He can refer to Himself as 'the root and stem of David', but it is to the Church, which is His body, that Jesus is able to declare, "I, Jesus, AM the bright morning Star."  The day is fast approaching, when Jesus will come in the clouds, as that bright morning Star, to gather to Himself, those who have been born again - by grace through faith, in His sacrificial work at Calvary.

Jesus is coming as the bright morning Star, to Rapture His church-age saints into His presence, before the great and terrible day of the Lord begins. And Jesus will return for Israel, as the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings, when God's chosen nation acknowledges Jesus, as their own Messiah, Who died and rose again, to save His people from their sins - and they will once again cry out, during that terrible time of Jacob's Trouble, "blessed is He, Who comes in the name of the Lord."

Heavenly Father, Your plan of redemption is staggering, and I worship and praise You for Your goodness and grace to the children of men. Thank You that You sent the Lord Jesus to be born into the human race so that by faith in Him, we may be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Your dear Son. Thank You for revealing Your plans and purposes through the holy Scriptures, and for purposing that the eternal Son should be born as the perfect Man - to die and rise again for my sake. As I watch for the any-day return of Jesus, keep me focussed on You, so that I may live and work to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.