^1:17And when I saw Him, I fell at his feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a DEAD MAN.

And when I saw Him, I fell at his feet as a dead man.

Every person who has had a close encounter with Jesus Christ has fallen at His feet in total submission of self. Man is so unclean, so sinful, so unloving that when held to the vision of Christ as John saw Him, a person can only fall as dead at His feet. See what others felt after their encounter: Job in Job 4:5-6; Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-5; Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:28; Daniel in Daniel 10:2-9; and Saul(Paul) in Acts 9:1-20.

All express some form of insignificance before God!

If this is true for the righteous prophets, what is it going to be like for those who reject Christ? They won't inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21); they won't even see the kingdom of God, Jesus said so (John 3:3). They will try to hide but can't (Revelation 6:16); and they will be totally gripped with fear (Luke 21:26).

And He laid His right hand upon me, saying,

Here we (with John) are at Jesus' feet - totally overpowered by His glory, and He comes and gently touches us with His right hand of authority (including the stars: angels of the churches) and speaks to John. Remember John knew Jesus as a beloved (John 13:23) friend, so this touch felt very familiar!

"Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and

The first "Don't be afraid" in the Bible (Genesis 15:1) was followed by an "I am" promise - the covenant with Abraham to make his seed a mighty nation. In fact, Jesus himself physically was part of that covenant.

The life of a Christian is not one of fear or timidity...it is of power, love, and discipline - (2 Timothy 1:7). John saw the power; he felt the touch; and he knew he was going to discipline himself to write this book, no matter what he was about to see or hear!!!

The fact that Christ says I am the First and the Last confirms His authority as God. This is one of the titles given to God as Isaiah points out in Isaiah 41:4, Isaiah 48:12, and Isaiah 44:6.

The rest of the "I AM" follows in the next verse.