“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead” — Revelation 1:17

Why would John, a beloved saint of Jesus, fall down as though dead upon seeing his Master? Let us expound a theory with three points.

1. Vision

John’s previous experience with Jesus was that of a man with a nearly disguised God. Let’s imagine the sun placed in a large dark room and us on the outside of the room — we would not see the sun in it’s full glory (which would surely cause our death) but we would likely see hints of it: strong rays of light breaking through cracks, intense heat radiating from the walls, and the muffled sound of a raging fire. In John’s life as a disciple of Jesus he stood on the outside, closer to Jesus than maybe any other, but still on the outside. Here, though, we see the door flung open and Jesus standing in unrestrained glory — feet of bronze, eyes of flame and a double edged sword coming from His lips. Once through a dirty mirror, John now saw clearly. And it was terrifying.

2. Awareness

We might note a cascading effect: John saw Jesus’ unattenuated splendor and then felt a crashing wave of humility and debasement. John echoes Isaiah here:

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” — Isaiah 6:5 ESV

In this state the most natural position is one of prostration.

3. Consuming Holiness

John was surely familiar with the Old Testament idea that God’s radiating holiness would consume anything of a different quality that stumbled into His presence. We see Moses asking God to show him His glory and the Lord responding:

“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord .’ But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” — Exodus 33:19–20 (paraphrased)

O, the care and grace of our God! Even when we ask for the right thing, we ask in ignorance. We would be utterly consumed if God answered our prayer to see His glory, but in His mercy He does give us a taste of His glory in a quantity our brittle vessels of clay can sustain. In Exodus, we see the severity of being in God’s presence:

“And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord , and when he comes out, so that he does not die.” — Exodus 28:35.

Aaron was required to wear a very specific raiment when doing his duty as the high priest and the sound of the bells told his people that he was interceding for them in the ordained way. If the bells were not heard when Aaron entered the Holy Place, it meant that Aaron was entering the presence of God in direct disobedience and would surely be consumed.

Our God is a consuming fire.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” — Hebrews 12:28‭-‬29 ESV

We will all see Jesus face to face one day soon, arrayed with glory and splendor as the Cosmic Judge and Lion of Judah, Conquerer of Death and Savior of the World. When that day comes, we should follow John’s example by casting ourselves at the feet of our King in admiration and fear of the Lord. But let us start today!