THE BOOK OF REVELATION
~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 1
The Visions Given To Apostle John on the Lord's Day
Verse 1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Verse 2: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
The Book of Revelation begins with a clear declaration — “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him”. It was the revelation of Jesus Christ and not the revelation of John. It was the revelation which the Almighty God gave to His Son. Why? (Undoubtedly, there is a special relationship between the Almighty God and the Lord Jesus Christ.) The Revelation was given to Jesus Christ to show to His servants concerning things and events which must soon take place — from the time of John. And the year was 96 A.D..
Our Lord Jesus sent and communicated His Revelation through an angel to John who recorded all that he saw in his visions. John was the beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ (John.13:23; 20:2). He is a type of the Beloved (Bride) of Christ. Whatever things that were shown to John would have to be revealed to His Bride. Because we are living at the final stretch of the closing period of the whole dispensation of the Seven Church Ages, we are privileged to see a clearer picture than those members of the Bride in each of the past six Church Ages could see. Yes, this is the very hour of the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Bride. This is the hour, not only for the Word but also for “the oil and the wine” — the anointing and the stimulation of revelation — of the Holy Spirit upon the Word. And this is the LIFE that cannot be hurt (cf. Rev.6:6).
Verse 3: Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
The unfolding of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is for us to understand and to obey the words of prophecy that we may be a light in this world of spiritual darkness and always be ready and prepared for the return of the Lord. Many Christians are actually spiritually blinded by Satan who has entered the realm of religious Christianity since the 4th Century, and who has actually been worshipped in the organized churches! Satan is the god of this evil age.
Verse 4: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Verse 5: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Verse 6: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Notice that there are three greetings from the throne area of Heaven.
●The first is from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come”.
●The second is from “the seven Spirits which are before his throne”.
●The third is from “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth”.
The One “which is, and which was, and which is to come” is the Eternal Invisible Spirit — Elohim, the Almighty One. He does not have, and never had a beginning; He will never have an end. He always is because He always was, and He always will be — the I AM. He is the Creator and the Father of all creations. But “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth” is Elohim's Only Begotten Son Who is vested with all His authority (Matt.28:18). The Son of God had a beginning. He was virgin born, nearly 2000 years ago, as a mortal person with a mission to conquer death and hell. Through God's Work of Redemption, Jesus Christ has made it possible for us to be born again sons and daughters of God, and to be a royal race and priests to serve His God and Father, Who is also our God and Father — “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John.20:17b). The only way we can truly be born again sons and daughters of God is to repent of our sins, be water baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, according to the revelation declared by the Apostles in the Early Church, and then we shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ( cf. ACTS 2:38). Whereas the Blood of Christ takes care of the inherited 'original sin' nature in us, water baptism remits the sins in our lives. We will then walk in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and go on to perfection in His Word and the Blood of Christ will cleanse us from all our sins (cf. 1 Jhn.1:4-10).
As the Son of God, Jesus Christ has faithfully declared to us all that he had received from the Father and testified always to the truth concerning Himself before all men and even in the hour of His death. So, as “the faithful witness” He attests that we should and could believe the apocalyptic truth that He was about to reveal to John. Amen. His faithfulness endures to all generations!
Now, Jesus is the first begotten from the dead, which obviously means there will be others, after Him, who will be begotten from the dead. There will be a people who, upon their translation, will also have the same glorified body that Jesus has. They are the true members of the Bride (Body) of Christ. They are priests and subjects in His Kingdom for they all have direct access to Him. As He overcame and sat down on His Father's throne, so will His saints overcome and sit down with Him in His throne (cf. Rev.3:21). The King and His Bride will then rule the earth for a thousand years after the close of the Great Tribulation. The millennial reign of Christ with His Bride is called the Age of Regeneration (cf. Matt.19:28).
Concerning the Seven Spirits which are before the Throne of God, this is the first time that we read about their presence before the throne of God. However, Prophet Zechariah did make mention of them as the “eyes of the Lord” (Zech.4:10 cf. 3:9). This is a mystery. It must therefore tell us something. Remember that the Book of Revelation is the last of the 66 books of the Bible and was written around the year 96 A.D.
God is a Spirit. He is One, not Seven or Three Spirits (Trinity). What then are these Seven Spirits? They are actually God's attributes which are manifested throughout the periods of the Seven Church Ages and the 70th Week of Daniel's prophecy. These attributes are manifested through Seven Spiritual Angels soon after the Church fell away from her purity in about the year 53 A.D. In the Book of Revelation, we find that these Seven Spirits (ascribed or assigned to Seven Angels) have seven tasks to perform, seven different roles to play, so to speak. In their assignments, they have been identified as:
i) SEVEN STARS in the right hand of the HIGH PRIEST and JUDGE Who walks in the midst of the Seven Golden Candlesticks,
ii) SEVEN LAMPS BURNING on the CANDLESTICKS,
iii) SEVEN SEALS on the backside of the SEALED-BOOK in the right hand of the Almighty,
iv) SEVEN HORNS and SEVEN EYES on the LAMB,
v) SEVEN THUNDERS with the MIGHTY ANGEL,
vi) SEVEN TRUMPETS which will sound after the Rapture of the Bride,
and
vii) SEVEN VIALS of God's Wrath which will be poured out upon the earth between the closing of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.
And in two of their seven jobs, as the SEVEN STARS and the SEVEN THUNDERS, their (audible) VOICES are heard by the True Worshippers of God.
Verse 7: Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
This is not the coming of Christ for His Bride in the Rapture. The Rapture is a secret event to the world. This is the Lord Jesus Christ coming back physically with His saints after they have supped at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven (cf. Matt.24:29-30; Rev.19: 11-21). They will come riding on white horses and the eyes of Israel (who pierced Him) and of all the nations of the earth shall see Him. They shall be in great anguish because He has come to judge the world. This will take place at the close of the Great Tribulation in the Battle of Armageddon. Read Zechariah chapter 14.
Verse 8: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Do pay close attention to verse 8 that you may understand two terms in the verse which clearly show us the Oneness of the Godhead — all that God is, is in Christ Jesus. It will show you Who God is and Who Jesus is; they are One God. Notice the first statement. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” — the Lord is speaking of His being in TIME. Eternity has no time; it has no beginning and no ending. Hence, when Elohim uses this term, He speaks of the REVELATION of Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ (read John 1). The Apostle Paul used a near equivalent statement when he wrote: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews13:8). The Word of God, Who is God Himself, came forth in the beginning as Alpha to bring forth Creations. This same Word Who is also Omega will bring to an end all things created through His Redemption Work (cf. Jhn.1:1-3; Rev.3:14). Christ Jesus, Who is the Word of God incarnate, is therefore the firstborn of God (Col.1:15). The second statement, “which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (or “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”) is used emphatically of the Almighty Himself as the only source ('circle') of life. Hence, He is YAHWEH, “THE ETERNAL WITHIN HIMSELF EXISTING ONE”.
Remember Jesus Christ had a beginning. He was born of a virgin, raised as a child and grew up as a man (cf. Luk.2:40,52). But God is Spirit and will always be Spirit. He is invisible (1 Tim.1:17; 6:16). The only way we can see God is to see His works (cf. Jhn.6: 28-29; 10:25, 36-38; 14:10-13). At the appointed time, Jesus was empowered by the Word of God. This happened at His water baptism in Jordan River. The Spirit of God came down from Heaven to dwell in Him. This was the incarnation of God — God 'en morphe' in flesh; God clothed in flesh. But the Almighty God was still Spirit, and though Jesus Christ was still a man, He was a God-Man. The body of Jesus is not God; it is only God's abode, His temple. It was the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who died at Calvary and not God Himself for God, being a Spirit, cannot die. After His death and resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven. On His ascension He said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt.28:18b). Prior to His ascension, Jesus did not have “all power” for He said that He could not do anything until His Father showed Him what to do (cf. Jhn.5:19). It is not difficult to see how the Eternal Invisible Spirit (One Spirit) has revealed Himself in the Man called Jesus Christ — “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor.5:19a). Therefore, this fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (9:6): “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be callped Wonderful, Counsellor, mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Tim.3:16). Hence, when Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”, He was declaring the Divinity in Himself. Though He was the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col.2:9) God was still the Eternal Invisible Holy Spirit above, about and around Him for God is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent.
The Word (Grk: Logos) of God which came forth in the beginning (see John 1:1-4) was actually His creative self-revelation, “the side of God turned towards the world”. It was not another Spirit being Who was also God. There is but ONE SPIRIT, ONE TRUE GOD. The Trinity of God is a pagan concept. It has its root in the mystery religion spawned at Babel by Nimrod and his mother, Semiramis. The concept of multiple gods, by different names and titles, was greatly accepted throughout the time of the Greek and Roman world. The people practiced sex orgies, idolatry, mutilation and even human sacrifices in the names of their gods. When the first Church of Rome fell from grace, she too embraced many of the pagan practices. Mystery Babylon, the Great Harlot of Revelation chapter 17, is none other than the first Church of Rome — the Roman Catholic Church. She overrode the Word of God with her dogmas and changed the doctrine of Oneness of God into a Trinity of God in the year 325 A.D. Needless to say, even today, all her harlot daughters (organized churches) still embrace the same paganish dogma.
The mystery of the doctrine of Trinity is a mystery created by theologians. Their presentation (which they call interpretation) is apparently quite persuasive, but their understanding and reasoning are appalling to the extent that they not only deceive others, but they also deceive themselves. They almost always qualify their teaching with such words, “We can never understand the mystery of the Trinity. Because we are finite we cannot fully comprehend God”. Certainly, with such foolish teaching, how do we expect the common Christian people to understand anything about God in the scriptural sense that God wants them to understand Him. However, the opposite is true. The words of the Apostle Paul, in 1 Timothy 3:16, do not make the doctrine of the Godhead mysterious in any way than its simple truth. The New International Version renders the verse a little better: “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory”. Furthermore, concerning our need to comprehend our God, he wrote: “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians:15-18).
Truly, we certainly need to know what we believe lest we receive a harsh rebuke from the Lord just as He had rebuked the Samaritan woman at the well: “Ye worship ye know not what”. The majority of the Christian people have been deceived into accepting the doctrine of the Trinity for their salvation. Some tenets of faith of denominational churches specifically state that a person is not a Christian unless he/she believes in the Trinity. But the Bible shows otherwise.
Verse 9: I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Patmos was a small island off the coast of Asia Minor. It was about 60 to ⁿ120 kilometres from those seven churches to which John addressed his letters. The Romans put condemned criminals there (just like the Americans used to put theirs on the island of Alcatraz, off the city of San Francisco). There was no escape from the island which was infested with poisonous snakes and scorpions.
St. John was probably about 90 years old when he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Well, whether you are 90 or 9 years old, God can always use you provided you are willing to serve Him. Here we see that John was persecuted for his faith. He knew that the true worshippers of God must invariably go through trials and tribulations one way or another for their faith. Though he was in dire circumstance John even comforted those in tribulation by identifying with them — “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Although he was exiled to isolation on an island, John knew that God had a purpose in it and that God was with him. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psa.37:23).
In solitude John had plenty of time. His physical body was in bondage but his spirit was not. Having nothing physical to do, he spent his time in the presence of the Almighty God, worshipping Him. And he was in such an attitude one day, on the first day of the week, the Lord's day, that he became the instrument of blessings to the saints of God. He was so immersed in the Spirit of the Lord that the natural realm began to move away and he began to enter into another realm — the spiritual realm of God. He began to hear and see things that no man had heard or seen before, and he “bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw” (vv.2).
Verse 10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
Verse 11: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
The term “Lord's Day” is not the same as the “Day of the Lord” which is found in many passages throughout the Old and New Testaments. The term is used only once in the Holy Scriptures and is understood to signify the “first day of the week” when the saints would gather together to worship God. [Note: The word “Lord's” (Greek: kuriakos) is an adjective, meaning something belonging solely to the Lord. It has no exact English equivalent. Another occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 11:20 — “Lord's Supper”, an ordinance set down by the Lord in which the saints would come together to commemorate His death till He returns. “Lord's Supper” is never called the “Supper of the Lord”. For obvious reasons, read Revelation 19:9,17.]
G. M. Lamsa translated the first part of verse 10 as “The Spirit of prophecy came upon me on the Lord's day…” Contrary to what is being taught by some theologians, John's spirit was not projected or teleported into a span of time in the 21st Century when Jesus would return to earth and set up His Millennial Reign. Some even teach that the “Day of the Lord” is the period of a thousand years during which Christ will reign over the earth. But the “Day of the Lord” is truly the time of Christ's return to the earth, at the close of the 3½ years of Great Tribulation, to fight in the Battle of Armageddon (Zechariah14:4; Matthew 24:29-30; Rev.19:11-21). Then after the battle, the Most Holy Place of the Millennial Temple will be anointed (Daniel 9:24) and Christ will judge the nations of the world (Matt.25:31-46). Following that will be the Age of Regeneration (cf. Matt.19:28). Hence, the “Day of the Lord” is the 75-day period (cf. Dan.12:11-12) between the closing of the 3½ years of Great Tribulation and the beginning of the 1000-year reign of Christ and His Saints.
When John was in the Spirit of the Lord, he heard a great voice, which sounded like a trumpet, right behind him. That “great voice” identified Himself as Diety. He was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Time began with Him and time will end with Him — the “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”.
The seven churches to which John was commanded to address his writings consisted of mostly Gentile converts. These seven churches were located in Asia Minor (the area which is today's Western Turkey). Remember this was the year 96 A.D., about 45 years after the Gospel had began to affect the Gentile people as fewer Jews were accepting it. God was turning to the Gentile people to take out a Spiritual Bride for His Son. This Book of Revelation was written for the benefit of the Bride that she might understand what the Lord was going to do in His Church and what events would transpire throughout the Grace Age.
Now, the Grace Age is divided into seven periods. Each period, being represented by one of the seven churches, is revealed and assessed by Christ as recorded by John in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. They are commonly called the Seven Church Ages.
Verse 12: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
Verse 13: And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
When John turned to see who was speaking to him he saw Seven Golden Candlesticks (i.e. Lampstands).. These Seven Golden Lamp-stands are the Seven Churches as interpreted in verse 20. Prophet Zechariah wrote: “I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof” (Zech.4:2). The oil in the bowl flows through the pipes into the lamps. The oil speaks of the Spirit of God always flowing afresh into the Church of Christ throughout the Seven Church Ages. The Spirit of Christ is the Light of the world; the church is just the carrier of the Light. In the midst of these lampstands John saw “one like unto the Son of man”. That was the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man. And He was wearing a High Priest robe. (Notice that He did not have a Breastplate of Judgement, the Urim and the Thummim, on His breast because He Himself was the Urim and the Thummim.) This means that He was in the position of a High Priest showing that He was an Intercessor or a Mediator. He still is, but He will not always be in this intermediary position. Some time in the future He will come back to earth as the King and rule the earth for 1000 years. Of course, He will not be dressed as a High Priest; He will be dressed as the King.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has to fulfill what was written of Him in the prophetic writings contained in the books of the Old Testament. He has many roles to fulfill, so to speak. When He came to this earth nearly 2000 years ago, He came as a Prophet-Servant to preach the Word of God and to serve mankind (cf. Mark 10:45). He was no longer the Prophet and Servant after His death and ascension but “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession…” (Hebrews 3:1). See? Now He is “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession”. And when this period of time is over He will return to earth to rule and judge (Rev.20:11-15). “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all” (1 Cor.15:24-28 NIV).. Amen. Jesus Christ will then have fulfilled everything that was written of Him. He will then be “the Omega”, “the ending”, as TIME is wrapped up in ETERNITY. Then He will once again subject Himself to the Invisible God, His Father, Who is also our God and Father — the “I AM” , “Who is, Who was, and Who is to come”, the Eternal One Who is immutable. But Jesus Christ will be our elder brother in His spiritual body form.
Verse 14: His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
This speaks of Jesus Christ as being the Judge. In his days, the prophet Daniel also saw this same Judge in his vision (Daniel 7:9). No evil can escape the scrutiny of His eyes of blazing fire — omniscient flame — in judgement.
Verse 15: And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
“And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” Jesus Christ, the One with God's own life, stood steadfastly in judgement for you and me so that we might not be condemned. It was a fiery trial all along the way till He ended up as a bleeding Lamb, spilling His Blood at Calvary, thus completing God's atonement for us. But, very soon, He is coming to judge those who reject His offer of salvation.
“And his voice as the sound of many waters.” Like mighty running streams of water, babbling brooks, or great showers of rain, the words of Christ have always been soothing, bringing joy, comfort, peace and faith to the hearers. Throughout the ages the sound of His voice, speaking through His ministers, would revive His people in the Spirit and Word of God. The voice is the revelation of Christ Himself.
Verse 16: And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
“The seven stars are the seven angels (or messengers) of the seven churches” (see verse 20). Apparently the Apostle John was acquainted with these seven churches and their presiding bishops or pastors. Hence, the letters were addressed to these seven outstanding servants of God as “messengers” so that they would be aware of Christ's assessment of their respective church and its condition. And knowing the conditions of these churches God set a type that would reflect the Church Age in seven epochs of time. Also, these seven stars (or messengers) testify of a greater ministry to the Body of Christ in each of the Seven Church Ages than just these local churches in the seven selected cities of Asia Minor. Each of these stars was a special gift of God to its respective Church Age.
Gifts are given with the right hand. And the stars being held in the right hand of Jesus Christ shows us that God deals with the churches according to His grace and mercy. Through these specially anointed messengers the sharp and powerful message of God, which proceeded from the mouth of Christ, was wielded by them in their days, for the steadfastness of Christ Jesus was brilliant and mighty.
Verse 17: And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Verse 18: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
If the countenance of Christ in all His glory proved too much for John, what about us? So, let us be holy as God is holy.
Jesus Christ once again identified Himself as “the first and the last”. In fact He is “the first and the last” person ever to be born into this world to die for mankind and yet live again. He is the only one. Nobody else has ever done what He did. There is no other person through whom mankind can have salvation. God turned His back upon Christ, figuratively speaking, as He hung on that cross at Mount Calvary, spilling His blood for you and me. And because He lives again, we will also live with Him. Amen.
Our Lord Jesus has “the keys of hell and of death”. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him”
(1 Pet.3:18-22).
While our Lord's body laid in the tomb, His spirit went down to “sheol”, the place and “prison” of the departed dead, and preached to those spirits held captive there. Satan was the 'warden' of “sheol” and he had the keys, so to speak, for he was the author of death. He held all the dead in his “prison”. However, Jesus Christ, overcame death and became the author of our salvation. He is the author of life to all who would believe in Him. He is the Lord of hosts, the King of glory Who is mighty in battle (cf. Psalm 24:7-10). Christ went right through the fortress of Satan's prison and snatched the keys of death and hell from him and opened up the gates of the prison that held His saints captive. All the saints of God who died since the time of Adam until the atonement was paid by Christ were released from Satan's prison bars of hell. They became Christ's prisoners, so to speak. (Read Matthew 27:52-53; Ephesians 4:8-10.)
Verse 19: Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
John was commanded to write down
i) what he had seen, “the things which thou hast seen” — what we read in chapter 1;
ii) what is, “the things which are” — that is, the conditions of the seven local churches in Asia Minor (which prophetically reflect the whole Body of Christ throughout the grace period of the Church Age); and
iii) what is to happen after these things, “the things which shall be hereafter” — pointing to events which shall happen in the future ahead of John's time. Consequently, we have this Book of Revelation.
Verse 20: The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
This last verse is self-explanatory. In fact this is one of several 'key' verses to the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Right away we are told that the Seven Stars are the Angels of the Seven Churches and the Seven Candlesticks are Seven Churches. Hence, the “mystery” is unfolded to show us that there would be seven “earthly” angels, or messengers, of the Seven Church Ages and not just seven local ministers of seven churches in Asia Minor. (This will be better understood when we look into Revelation chapters 2 and 3.) Moreover, the Seven Spirits which stood before the throne of God would minister to these Seven Messengers of the Seven Church Ages. These Spirits would minister to their respective messengers in their proclamation of the message of Christ for their particular Church Ages. They are also responsible to keep the light on their lampstand burning throughout the age. These are the first two roles of the Seven Spirits — ministering to the Seven Stars with the Message of Christ (the two-edged sword from the mouth of Christ) and keeping the Light of Truth burning in the Body of Christ for and throughout their respective Church Ages.
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Revelation Chapter 2
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 2
At the end of the first chapter of Revelation, we are introduced to the Seven Church Ages as represented by the Seven Lampstands. These Seven Church Ages make up what is called “the kingdom of heaven” (Matt.13). It is also called “the mystery of God” (Rev.10:7) identified by the Apostle Paul as a period in which the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob blinded the Jews and turned to the Gentiles to call a people — “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom.11:25).
The “fulness of the Gentiles” will soon be complete as we are living at the very end of the Seventh Church Age known as the Laodicean Church Age. Then God will turn to Israel and deal with her once again. The Bible shows us that God personally called Abraham and dealt with him at a time when the world was filled with religious darkness. Abraham was “redeemed”, so to speak. God made a covenant with Abraham and promised him a “SON”. Abraham was to be the Father of many nations, but only through Israel was the oracles of God given. From the year of his calling (1920 B.C.) to the year when the “SON of God” came and finished the work of redemption (30 A.D.) was a total of 1950 years (i.e. 40 Jubilees). Now, does God allocate the same number of years for the Gentiles to come into His household of saints, that is, from 53 A.D. to 2003 A.D.? Only time will tell.
We shall not delve into the historical details of the Seven Church Ages as they are fully dealt with in “The Exposition of the Seven Church Ages” by William M. Branham who first received the names of the Seven Messengers and their messages by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
A Letter to the Church in the Ephesian Age
Verse 1: Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Verse 2: I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
The Apostle Paul was the angel or messenger to the First Church Age. He was an apostle born out of due season (1 Cor.15:8) and was the founder of the church in Ephesus. A revival fire was started in that city and from there it spread to other cities throughout Asia Minor.
When the Church began on the Day of Pentecost it was very stringent in its faith. Tares, if any, were quickly weeded out by the roots so that only the wheat remained (cf. Acts 5). As more converts were added to the Church and as the Gentiles accepted the Gospel, the spirit of antichrist began to work harder. And by the year 53 A.D. the wheat and the tares began to grow side by side together. They were allowed to continue growing together until the closing of the Seventh Church Age at which time the tares would be separated from the wheat (Matt.13:24-30; Acts 20:28-30) and the Bride of Christ perfected for the Rapture. This was the beginning of the First Church Age which lasted for about 120 years.
The works and virtues of the believers of every age were known of God. The saints of the first age could not tolerate those who were evil, especially those who claimed that they were the apostles of God but were proven to be liars. The Church of Christ began with the Ministry of the Apostles. The Word of the Lord actually came to the Apostles in the “New Testament” age and unveiled to them the revelation of the prophetic Word. The apostles were highly respected men of God. They were called and sent of God to get God's people to line up with the Word of God and God's plan of salvation. Satan knew what God was doing and began to impersonate Him.
Organized Christianity is in chaos today. Many denominational churches are supporting ecumenism, even though they are divided along doctrinal lines. And the individual groups tend to go about doing things according to their own ideas. But the Word of God shows that there would be a message (to be sounded forth by the angel to the Seventh Church Age) that would wake up the sleeping virgins (who truly have a deep desire to see the bridegroom come) to call them back to the Word (cf. Matt.25:1-13). Then an apostolic ministry would follow as God brings out the 5-Fold Ministry in full force to get the wise virgins to understand their faith which lies in the Apostolic doctrines (cf. Eph.4:11; 2:20; 3:5; Rev.21:14). Yes, the Apostolic ministry under the leadership of the Lord has returned.
How did the believers in the Ephesian Church Age test those who claimed they were apostles to the Church? They simply compared the teachings and practices of the so-called apostles with the message of the Apostle Paul who was the first apostle of God to the Gentiles. Similarly, we must put to the same test the teachings of those who claim to be the present day apostles. Paul said “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon” (1 Cor.3:10). Could anyone be a wiser masterbuilder? Any teaching or practice that is not of the Word must be rejected.
Verse 3: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Verse 4: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Verse 5: Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Ephesus means “desirable; aimed at”. It shows the spiritual attitude of the saints of that age towards God. They showed a lot of patience and they laboured much for the Lord. Ephesus also means “relaxed and drifting”. And that was what happened to many saints who began to relax from the fire that they possessed in the beginning and drift from the Truth and the Love of God.
God is warning His people to repent. Repentance is the only way to get back to God. It has never changed. We are living in an age where “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt.24:12 cf. 1 Tim.4:1). We need to heed the warning lest we become like the First Church which, when their fire went out and the lampstand was removed, never had another renewal — only a dead form remained.
Verse 6: But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.
The Nicolaitanes were a group of people who sought to make a distinction between those who ministered the Word (clergy/elders) and those who accepted and listened to the Word (laity). They wanted to claim superiority of the ministers over the laity. In other words, they wanted to conquer (nikao) the laity (laos). When the Church Elders conquered the laity they prevented the Spirit of the Lord from moving about freely in the Church to manifest His gifts, such as tongues and prophecies. The Lord commended the believers who hated such deeds which He Himself also hated for God wanted His children to have His liberty in the Spirit.
Verse 7: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The promise to this (Ephesian) age, to all who received the revelation of the message, was the right to go into the paradise of God and partake of the tree of life (cf. Lk.23:43).
A Letter to the Church in the Smyrnaean Age
Verse 8: And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Verse 9: I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Smyrna means “bitter”. It comes from the word “myrrh”. It was an age of bitter persecution. The saints in the city of Smyrna were stricken with poverty and lived in great hardship. Because of their faith, they were made the laughing stocks in the city, especially by those pseudo-Jews who belonged to the synagogue of Satan. There were also many pseudo-believers who derided and persecuted the saints. They were of the devil's assembly. Though they were poor materially, the true worshippers were rich in the Lord because of the revelation they had received through Irenaeus, the Messenger of God for the age, and the preachings of other true servants of God. With the true revelation they had received they were able to remain fearless in the midst of persecution against them for their faith.
The Smyrnaean Age lasted from the middle of the 2nd Century to the 4th Century. Polycarp, a great disciple of the Apostle John, was martyred in this age in 155 A.D.
Verse 10: Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Verse 11: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
The elect of God do not persecute; rather they are persecuted. Persecution comes upon the elect as a trial of their faith. In the age of Smyrna, the saints endured tribulation brought upon them by the adversary of God. Some were cast into prison. And under the hands of Emperor Diocletian, thousands of Christians were martyred by the Romans during the period of “ten days” — 300 to 310 A.D. Those overcomers who endured and remained faithful to the point of death, as admonished by the Lord, would not die the “second death” but would receive a “crown of life”.
The “second death” takes place when the spirit of life leaves the soul and body, which happens after the Great White Throne Judgement. The first death takes place when the soul departs from the body. (Read Rev.20:14; Gen.35:18.) Jesus said, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt.10:28). All sinners will have a share in the Lake of Fire as they are being burnt and destroyed completely. Yes, all the wicked ones will be annihilated. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part (Grk: 'meros' - share, division) in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev.21:8). Hence, the Doctrine of Eternal Death, which teaches that the soul of a wicked dead will be burnt endlessly in an eternal hell fire which will never be extinguished, is an erroneous teaching. There is only one form of LIFE and it is the LIFE of God. You either have IT or you don't.
A Letter to the Church in the Pergamean Age
Verse 12: And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Verse 13: I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
This is the age that Satan finally established his seat of power in Christendom — Apostate Christianity — when Constantine the Great became emperor in 312 A.D.. Constantine's previous religion was the worship of the 'Unconquered Sun'. He became a Christian after he saw a vision of a cross in the sky. He described himself as the 'defender of the church' but was actually a meddler in church affairs. The interfering emperor convened an ecumenical council in 325 A.D., at Nicaea where some 1500 delegates gathered to define the doctrine of the Godhead. And the unholy doctrine of a '3-in-1' God was then formulated. From then on the Roman subjects were challenged by the bishops to receive the 'Christian trinity belief' as it was formulated at Nicaea. The belief in the Trinity, which consists of the tri-unity of God as Father, Son and Holy Ghost was thereby the only valid creed for all Christians. It became the state-furthered religion. (To this day the majority of Christians accept the teaching of the Trinity as a basic Scriptural doctrine without reservation.) Hence, Christianity was mixed with Paganism and made the official religion. This was the beginning of the first and largest denomination — the Roman Catholic Church. In the Book of Revelation she is identified as the Great Whore called “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth” (Rev.17:5) that sits on the First Beast (of Revelation 13) which is Romanism in its final stage.
Pergamos, meaning “citadel”, pointed to the stronghold of the Roman Catholic system — which was very similar to the religious system of Nimrod of Babel (Babylon) — the seat of Satan. This was where Satan dwelled and is still dwelling even today. And Satan would not hestitate to slay any one like he did Antipas. But his present strategy is the use of religious deception. From where he sits, he is always scheming to sow little seeds of error in the teachings of God's Word so as to perpetuate falsehood among the people of God. However, God always raises true ministries to counter the deceivers “whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake” (Tit.1:11). St. Martin was the messenger sent to wield the sharp twoedged Sword of the Word of God to counter the 'church and state' system.
Verse 14: But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Verse 15: So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
We read in Numbers chapters 22 to 24 how that Balaam, who did not belong to the children of Israel, succeeded in getting the children of Israel to fornicate with the Moabites. Balak, the Moabite king, had bribed Balaam, a soothsayer, to prophesy evil against Israel. However, God stopped Balaam's mouth each time Balaam tried to curse the Israelites. Instead of cursing the Israelites, he blessed them. Eventually Balaam hatched a crafty plan. He had Balak set up a religious worship at Baalpeor with the Moabite women there to entice the men of Israel by openly performing sex acts during their worship. Soon the men of Israel were participating with the Moabites in their heathen activities. Thousands of the men of Israel, who committed sexual sins with the Moabite women and who got involved in their heathen worship, were judged and slain.
The spirit of Balaam was in Constantine when he used the same “doctrine of Balaam” to unite Paganism and Christianity. God hates idolatry and spiritual fornication. The “doctrine of Balaam” is still widely embraced by organized religious churches around the world. Through the Ecumenical Movement, especially the Charismatics, the organized churches are being united with the Roman Catholic Church. The majority of these people do not really care much for the Word of God. Satan is once again gathering these people together to commit spiritual fornication. All that these people want is the 'charismata' — tongues, prophecies, etc. — and whatever they have been indoctrinated by the elite clergymen with 'charisma'. They are taught many 'new revelations' which are unscriptural and have no basis in the Word of God. These people are being deceived, not knowing that they will be facing the judgement of God in the Day of God's Wrath. But the true Elect, the Bride of Christ, will stay away from such evil; they will feed upon the pure Word of God that God will receive them (cf. 2 Cor.6:14-18).
The apostate church of Rome has become a whore. The Book of Revelation and Church History have identified her as “Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots” and the denominations which follow her ways as her harlot-daughters. They love the “way of Balaam” because they love the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet.2:15). They follow the “doctrine of Balaam” by enticing God's people to commit spiritual fornication against God. And they commit the “error of Balaam” (Jude 1:11) by vexing and condemning those who follow the ways of the Apostolic Church of God.
The deeds of the Nicolaitans which started in the first Church Age have become a doctrine in this last Church Age. The “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes”, coupled with the “doctrine of Balaam”, has caused the widening of the gap between the clergy and the laity. With many different categories of 'priestshood' under the pope as the supreme head of the apostate church, the ministry has become more distant from the people. The denominational churches today have adopted similar organisational structure. They have their general superintendents, regional overseers and suchlike because they take after their Mother Harlot. The seat of Satan is a high seat — “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isa.14:13-14).
Verse 16: Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Verse 17: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Towards the end of the 6th Century, God came upon the unrepentant ones with the Sword of His mouth and took away the lampstand while lighting another. But to those who had the ears to hear and to the overcomers, God allowed them to partake of the hidden manna which was the rich spiritual truths of God's Word. They were also each given a white stone signifying that they had the revelation and fellowship of God (cf. Matt.16:17-19). They were the few precious saints of Christ in that hour. Likewise, there are a few of such precious saints of Christ in this present hour. They will all receive their new name when they go up in the Rapture with their new body.
A Letter to the Church in the Thyatirean Age
Verse 18: And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;
Verse 19: I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Verse 20: Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
In the Fourth Church Age, Christ stood with fine brazen feet ready to judge the church if she did not repent. Because He had gone through the fiery judgement of God for us, He has therefore inherited the right to judge His church. No sin in the church could ever escape the judgement of His blazing eyes.
Thyatira means “dominating female”. In the days when the Apostle John received this vision, there was a woman named Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess and taught in the church in the City of Thyatira. She also seduced the ministers of God to commit fornication with her and made them eat food offered to idols. In the Old Testament period of the kings of Israel, there was also a queen named Jezebel, who was an idolater and seductress, the wife of King Ahab. She controlled her husband, ruled over the people and killed the prophets of God.
God has never ordained woman preachers in His church. All the ministers in the Five-fold Ministry of God are men. Because the Woman strayed outside the Word in the Garden of Eden when she was deceived by the Serpent, God had to put her in her designated place in the church. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Tim.2:11-14 cf. 1 Cor.14:34-35). Churches which hearken to the Satanic voice of Jezebel and allow women in their midst to preach and teach the Word of God are actually blinded by Satan to the Truth. Surely, they are in for a rough time that lies just ahead.
The church of Thyatira was aptly chosen to represent the Fourth Church Age which lasted from the close of the 6th Century to about the year 1520. 'Mother Church' dominated the world through her politico-religious system. Many countries outside of Europe, such as the Philippines, Canada and Latin America were colonized by the Roman Catholic nations through their missionaries. The papacy was elevated so highly that the Pope presented himself as 'Vicarius Filii Dei' — Latin for the 'Vicar of the Son of God'. But Christ has no vicar; He himself intercedes for all of His own. To prevent his authority from being examined, the Pope took the Bible away from the people and replaced It with superstitious rituals. One such ritual was the “continual sacrifice” (another meaning of the word “Thyatira”) of the Body of Christ which they called 'Mass'. The old apostate church began to teach her ministers her own 'Apostolic' doctrines. Every good thing was brought to a standstill. Superstitions and evil works were rampant. Poverty, sicknesses and diseases were prevalent. This was a glorious period for Satan and his wife, the Roman Catholic Church. It lasted for about a thousand years.
Life was hard especially for the saints at that time. Many family members were separated from one another. Many hid themselves and worshipped in caves and catacombs under difficult conditions. Can the saints of today be compared to those saints in their works, charity, service, faith and patience?
Verse 21: And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Verse 22: Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Verse 23: And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Did the Roman Catholic Church repent? No, she did not and she will never ever repent. She made herself to be a great prophetess and claimed divine authority in all her words. Her spirit became worse as the days passed. God's messenger, Columba, and other men of God tried to get her back to the Word. But she refused to accept it. So God had declared a period of Great Tribulation when He would cast her out there together with those 'servants of God' who committed spiritual fornication with her. Spiritual fornication produced spiritual death. Such unholy union was devoid of the Life of God; they only produced bastard children. These children were appointed by God to spiritual death. Yes, the blazing eyes of Christ search the reins and hearts of all the churches and God rewards them according to their works. Sadly, the majority of the 'protestant' churches in this 20th Century have joined up with that harlot prophetess “Jezebel”. They are actually born of whoredom and so they have returned to reunite with the “Mother of Harlot” and God will cast all of them together with her into the sickbed of Great Tribulation.
Verse 24: But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Verse 25: But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.
To the messenger and those who did not embrace the doctrine of Jezebel or learn what was called the deep things of Satan, Christ admonished them to hold on to what they possessed and He would not put upon them any additional burden. And His promise to them was:
Verse 26: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Verse 27: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Verse 28: And I will give him the morning star.
For those saints who will persevere to the end and overcome, what a day it will be when they shall live and reign with Christ in the Age of Regeneration (Matt.19:28)! They will cease to live in a dark chaotic age because they will receive the bright “morning star” — Jesus Christ, their Shepherd King! Together with Christ, they shall rule the nations righteously with true justice.
Verse 29: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
* *
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 3
■A Letter to the Church in the Sardisean Age
Verse 1: And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Verse 2: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
It is clear that the Seven Spirits of God (assigned to Seven Angels) worked with, and through, the Seven Stars in the Seven Church Ages. The fifth of the Seven Spirits (in the Fifth Angel) conveyed the message of Christ to Martin Luther, the messenger to the Sardisean Age. Luther was taught by the prophetess Jezebel (Roman Catholic Church) for quite some time until he received a revelation when he heard the Voice of God saying, “The just shall live by faith”. He fled from the seduction of the prophetess. Then there was a revival of faith all over Germany after he wrote 95 theses against the Papal system and nailed them on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in the year 1517. That started what is commonly known as the Reformation Age, but God called it the age of Sardis — the “escaped ones” — for the people were able to get away from the grasp of the apostate church. The Papal system was fatally wounded.
It was unfortunate that this age ended so quickly at around the year 1750. God knew about their works — their deeds — because of the revival which got them moving into the Life of God, but they soon turned to formalism which made them look good on the outside but corrupt on the inside. They had a “name” with a reputation for being active and alive, but to the Lord they were spiritually dead. They were warned to strengthen their remaining Christian things that were about to fade away and die.
The spirit of the apostate church had such a strong impact on this age that “daughters” were born, each having a “name”. There were the Lutherans, the Calvinists, the Brownists, Mennonites and many others. They all had “works” and “names” which only gave the impression that they were spiritually alive, even with spiritual gifts, but were in fact cold and dead. Today, there are nearly two thousand big “names” the majority of which are either spiritually dead or dying.
Verse 3: Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Verse 4: Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Would that all Christians remember what they have received and heard concerning the Word of God lest they fall into a mere form of worship. It is important to know what we hear and how we hear it so that we will receive the right things according to the Will of God that we may continue to live and walk in the light of God's Word. Failure to do so can cause the lamp in our life to be snuffed out. God warned the Sardiseans, the “escaped ones”, about their short-comings. Having escaped, they should have followed the path where God had wanted them to go. Instead they took the road to some traditional catechisms and became apostates. However, only a few of them — which is always the case in every age — were worthy of their callings for they had not defiled their garments. Because of the people's failure to hear and follow what God was saying, Christ blew out their lamp and lit another in the age of John Wesley. That was the year 1750. And God never again lit that lamp of the previous age.
Verse 5: He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Every overcomer of each age will “be clothed in white raiment” which is the glorified body, given only at the First Resurrection. It speaks of the righteousness of Christ in all these saints.
There is but only one “Book of Life”; it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is also called the “Book of Life of the Lamb” and the “Lamb's Book of Life” (Rev.13:8; 21:27). These are not two or three different “Books of Life” for different categories of believers. The “Book of Life” points to Christ Himself Who gave His life for us that we might be found in Him and be a part of that Book, His Body. Paul wrote: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:5-10,19-20).
When Christ saved a person He saved him to the uttermost. 'Once saved, always saved' is true for Christ does not redeem a believer and lose him later on. Yet, salvation is not something that a born again believer should take for granted by choosing a lifestyle that is contrary to the Truth of God. The Bible teaches that “for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30). Because we are in Christ it matters how we live. We are not bastards. We should live a holy life otherwise God, Who foreknew all of us, would have had our names blotted out of the “Book of Life” even before the foundation of the earth was laid. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:4-6,9,12).
Verse 6: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
●A Letter to the Church in the Philadelphian Age
Verse 7: And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Philadelphia means “brotherly kindness” which the Church in Philadelphia possessed. The saints were full of brotherly kindness. This Church depicted the age which lasted from 1750 to 1906. It was the greatest missionary age in the history of Christianity during which the Word of God was greatly published, promulgated and preached to various nations of the world. With it also came the realization of the need for Christians to clothe themselves with sanctification and holiness “as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). Now, this holiness is not of our own. Holiness is of the Lord. Some Christians believe they could or should work for their own holiness. Such people set their own standard of holiness and they tend to measure others by their own standard (Romans 10:3-4). In fact, such Christians are being self-righteous. And self-righteousness is a sin. It is Christ Who has imputed upon us His righteousness — “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10). Therefore, because we believe in God and His Word, which cleanses us from all sins, the Holy Spirit lives in us that we can live for God. (cf. Matthew 3:15). Amen. Therefore, we should be holy and live in holiness. This is true.
David was a king and a warrior. So was Christ Jesus. He was a King Who was great in battle (Psalm 24:8,10). Every time the children of Israel followed King David to battle, they believed David would win the battle. Likewise, as Christians, we have the assurance that we will win our battle when we follow Christ our King Who has the key of David.
By the time the Sardisean Age closed out, “Jezebel” had already built a mighty citadel with extremely high and strong walls around it and a door that no one could break through. The Roman Catholic Church was in full control of Western Europe. However, during the Philadelphian age, Christ gave the believers the key of David and set an open door for them to win the battles against that Harlot system. No one could close the door that Christ had opened because He alone had the “key” and the “authority”. In the political realm, there were wars and revolts in many parts of Europe. People wanted a better life and the freedom of religions. Through the ministry of John Wesley, the Star to the age, and other men of God, the stronghold of Mother Harlot was weakened and she lost her 'absolute power' over the people. By the end of the 18th Century, the Papacy was completely defeated though not destroyed.
Verse 8: I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
In that city of Philadelphia the Church at that time bore the Name of Christ. Like all the churches in the days of the Apostle John, the saints were all water baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since the doctrine of the Trinity was formulated in the Pergamean Age, the true believers had to contend for their faith in the ONE NAME of God Almighty. The true faith was already bedimmed and not fully understood in the way that it should be. Nevertheless, they held to the Name and did not deny it. As long as the predestinated seeds of God have a little strength, keep God's Word and do not deny His Name, the door of Christ will remain open for them to refresh themselves in the Word of God for the hour. They will be saved in the arms of Christ as long as they keep His Word. Amen. But one of these days the door will be shut as Christ takes His Gospel to the Jews. Then it will be too late. So, wake up, slumbering saints of God!
Verse 9: Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
A synagogue is a Jewish temple. There were many such temples built throughout Asia Minor since the Jews were scattered in 70 A.D. At that time Christians truly appreciated the Jews through whom the Oracles of God and the Messiah were sent. Like those in the city of Smyrna, the saints in Philadelphia also had to face imposters who claimed they were Jews. The synagogue of Satan also refers to the false church who claims to be Christians. But God's love for the true Church would cause the false church to acknowledge and laud the true believers.
Verse 10: Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Throughout the Seven Church Ages, many Christians had suffered in their own ways during their “hour of temptation”. But that “which shall come upon the world, to try them that dwell upon the world” points to a future period of eventful days of the Great Tribulation, after the True Church is raptured. It would be a dreadful “hour of temptation” for the people of the world but the enduring saints who keep the Word of God will be spared. So, let us be patient for patience produces experience (trustiness, character) and experience produces hope (confidence) that will not disappoint us. Already we have the revelation of the love of God in our heart (Romans 5:4-5). “Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him” (Psalm 105:19). Without patience the fire of many Christians are dying out. Some have fallen from the faith while others are seeking for some sensations among the Pentecostals and the Charismatics.
Verse 11: Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Verse 12: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
If you are a born again child of God, you have a place in the Body of Christ and you also have a crown. So, hold fast to whatever you have received of God, and be an overcomer and you will be made a pillar in the Church of God. These pillars are strong and could not be moved. These are the ones who shoulder certain responsibilities in the assembly that God uses to strengthen the Temple. There are some Christians who move about so much, going in and out, among different assemblies that they could never be pillars. They could not even be a stone in the Temple of God because they are busy with their own self-righteous programmes that they are doing God a service without God's directive. God wants us to be living stones that are fitly joined and held together for the Temple of God (1 Peter 2:5; Ephesians 4:16) and not rolling stones that can never stay still long enough to be cemented into proper place in the Temple.
We have the Name of our God, it is YAH (Yahweh, Yahshua), but the new Name of Christ will only be known when we put on the new body in the First Resurrection. The Name of the Holy City New Jerusalem, which is the Wife of Christ (Rev.21:2,9,10) is reflected by the name of the City Jerusalem itself. Jerusalem is the City of God, the holy place of the Tabernacle of God (Psalm 46:4). It is also called the Holy City (Matthew 4:5), the Faithful City (Isaiah 1:21), the City of Righteousness (Isaiah 1:26), the the City of Truth (Zechariah 8:3), the City of the Great King (Psalm 48:2) and other names which spiritually describe the Church, the Body and the Bride(-Wife) of Christ. We are the Holy City New Jerusalem in the making. But the Name of the New Jerusalem would only be known when the City is complete and placed in the New Heaven and New Earth.
Verse 13: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
●A Letter to the Church in the Laodicean Age
Verse 14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
We are living in the Laodicean Age which began around the year 1906 and which will end at the coming of Christ for His Bride. Though the name Laodicea means “people's rights” it was often used in honour of certain royal ladies. The name so chosen by the Lord is apt for this last age. There are indeed many 'royal ladies' (grand denominational churches) with people within them demanding their rights. But the only rights a Christian have are those which God has stated in His Word. But the Laodicean Christians do not want that. They may not openly say so, but they will water down the Word and Will of God to such an extent that they practically dress, talk, and behave just like the world. They curse, swear, cheat and lie. Their womenfolk cut their hair, paint their faces and put on shorts and trousers like men or dress indecently. Some of their men, with long hair, behave like women, almost. These Christians are being seduced by lying spirits (1 Timothy 4:1). This last generation of the Laodicean Age is but a sick generation.
“The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” — Christ Jesus —forfeited His own rights in order to do the will of our Heavenly Father. He was obedient to every Word of God and He fulfilled the Father's will that He became a living sacrificial lamb, taking upon Himself the sins of the world to the cross. He shed His own precious blood and died for the salvation of mankind. He conquered death that we might have life. Read John 17:4; 6:38; 5:19. Therefore we belong to Christ. Christ lives in us. We are no longer our own for we are purchased with a price (Gal.2:20; 1 Cor.6:19-20). “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Gal.5:13).
Verse 15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Verse 16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
When Christians demand their rights, their priority to the Lord and His Word will be relegated to the second place as their individual rights preoccupy their minds. They are lukewarm and do not have the right spiritual judgement. They are neither cold nor hot. If they are either cold or hot, God will deal with them accordingly. But God is sick of lukewarm Christians and He is going to vomit them out of His mouth. They may have certain achievements in their works for the Lord. But God has no regard for their works. Truly, “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverb 14:12). Get in line with the Word, beloved! Don't be like the false churches out there in the world!
Verse 17: Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
How true it is! As this Church Age gets closer to the return of Christ, the church becomes vainer in their appearance. But the Bride, the True Elect, is not so. Each of the 'royal ladies' (grand denominational churches) would compete for greater attention of the world with their church programmes to increase their membership. They have different sorts of social activities to make the people feel good. They would raise large amount of money to buy properties and build large church buildings. Certainly, these grand denominations are so preoccupied with their riches and abundance of material goods that they feel that God is favoring them. But they are deceiving themselves in thinking that such material riches are the blessings of God. They are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” and they don't even know it! How pathetic it is for a person to be in such a situation and yet not realizing it. The same applies to the spiritual condition. It is simply lukewarmness! Beloved, these organized churches are but religious lodges. They are Satan's Eden. And God is going to cast them into great tribulation.
Verse 18: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of love, grace and mercy. Before He passes judgement He would give a warning and provide a way of escape for those who have an ear to hear what His Spirit is saying to the church. He is counselling the church to buy from Him “gold tried in the fire”. In other words, He wants them to have the genuine faith that has withstood the test of fiery trials through the ages of time — a Holy Ghost Faith in the Word of God, in Christ Jesus and in the Ministry of God for the hour. It is not just speaking in tongues, evangelizing the world, or doing good works, etc., but that Christ is revealing the Fullness of the Word of God in the believers that they may truly see the true riches in the Word and be spiritually clothed in the Word. However, many Christians just cannot stay still for a while to really hear and receive the Message which God has prepared for them. So, they end up with counterfeit gifts and fool's gold that are worthless. But Jesus said:
Verse 19: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Yes, there will be a group of people whom Jesus loves. They will repent. They won't rebel as Jesus corrects them. They will respond to the love of God in Christ. They will hear the voice of God's Seventh Church Age Messenger, William Marrion Branham. They will receive and contend for the genuine golden faith that was once delivered to the saints in the days of the Apostles (Jude 3). The pathway of the believers is not an easy one. But to those saints that are faithful, the Apostle Peter admonished: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter1:7). Amen.
Verse 20: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
As this Church Age comes to its end we see that Jesus Christ is no longer inside the church. This Church Age started with an outpouring of God's Gifts. The outpouring was supposed to get the church to pay close attention to the Word of God. Instead, we see the church wanting more of the gifts of God than the Giver Himself. Paul says that God gives and distributes His gifts as He wills (cf. 1 Cor.12) but the church is saying that all believers must speak in tongues or have at least one of the gifts. On the other hand, there are those who reject the gifts, saying that they are for the early church only. There are so much schism in the church in this age that every organized assembly, in some ways, claims to be the only 'royal lady' of Christ. How could that be when they have not only displaced the Word but have replaced It with the creeds and dogmas of man? Instead of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth, they are worshipping Him according to human traditions. They are so taken up with their religious activities that they do not even realize that Christ is no longer inside the church. Yes, this is the condition of the church today. Christ is outside the church and He is calling the people to open their hearts to Him.
The church today has no true message for the people of the world because Christ is no longer inside the church. So, in order to get the church recognized as a power, the 'royal ladies' are uniting themselves. Satan had it planned out in the early 20th Century to unite all these 'noble harlots' together under one roof — “One World, One Church” — to lead all of them back to their Mother, the Great Whore of Revelation chapter 17, which is the Roman Catholic Church. No wonder Revelation chapter 10 shows us that the Mighty Angel (who is Christ) swore that time should no longer delay for Christ to claim His right of redemption since His last message to the age has gone forth and the Church Age has come to its end. Through the message of the Seventh Angel to the age, Christ is calling God's elect to flee from the harlot system. Every true worshipper will open his or her heart for Christ to come in. And the heavenly table has never been so richly spread by Christ before the saints as in this last age as He feasts with them and they with Him. The Bride is getting back to the Word of God and is being perfected at this time by the Word of God through the Five-fold Ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16). Christ is revealing Himself in fullness to the Bride as He anoints her eyes with eyesalve.
Verse 21: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
God will grant to every individual believer, who overcomes the state of lukewarmness, who gets spiritually hot for the Lord Jesus, who lives a holy life and who does the Will of God, the right to share in the authority of Christ. Our Lord Jesus, as an overcomer, has set an example for us to follow. He laid aside His glory, took the form of man and “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb.4:15 cf. Phil.2:5-11). He overcame and is now sitting with God in His throne having all power in His hand (Matt.28:18).
Verse 22: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Have you heard? The admonition to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches is the same for all Churches Ages. There is not only the necessity to hear but also the need to have a spiritual ear to hear correctly the revelation of the Holy Spirit for the age. As Christ folds up the Dispensation of Grace to the Gentiles we need to be more prayerful in watching and understanding what the Holy Spirit is doing concerning the Kingdom of God that we might be a part of God's eternal plan.
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Revelation Chapter 4
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 4
A Glimpse of Heaven
Having shown John the conditions of the Seven Church Ages, God now goes on to show him the events that will come to pass in the course of time. This chapter 4 not only presents John as a type of the Bride of Jesus Christ being raptured into the Heaven as the Church Age closes out but also shows the Bride being caught up in the Spirit of Revelation.
Verse 1: After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
The “first voice” was the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev.1:10-11). Like a trumpet that is blown to call one's attention, the voice called John's attention to an open door in heaven right after Christ had shown John the conditions of the Seven Churches. Because the Bride of Jesus Christ is called out of the whorish and apostate system of the church, she is no longer living in the realm of the Laodicean Age. So God set an open door for her to enter the heavenly realm. And like an eagle soaring high in the sky, she is being lifted into a higher realm — a realm where she is given eagle's eyes to see the distant end of God's Prophetic Word right up to the Age of Regeneration, the Great White Throne Judgement and the unveiling of the New Heaven and New Earth. The organized churches may peep through the door and see a little of 'this thing' and a little of 'that thing'. But they have nothing compared to what the Bride is seeing and enjoying. Only the Bride is invited to “come up hither” and get inside the heavenly door and shown “things which must be hereafter” as the Spirit of Revelation unfolds the prophecies of God. Therefore, if you have the ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying now, you will flee from the curse of denominationalism and come quickly to receive this invitation of the Lord to “come up hither” into the heavenly door placed open before you in this hour.
“After this” or “after these things” denotes the transition from one part of the vision to another — it marks the succession of the visions and not of time. “Things which shall be hereafter” means after “the things which are”, that is, the conditions of the seven local churches in Asia Minor shown to John who was asked to write a letter to each of them. See Revelation 1:19. Simply, it means the things which would come to pass from John's time forward into the future.
Verse 2: And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Straightaway John was caught up in the Spirit of Revelation. He was caught up into heaven in a vision and saw the Almighty sitting on a throne. Let me emphasize once again that the spirit of John was not transported into the future, to every century, to witness events literally as they happened. Unfortunately, this is what some preachers are teaching. For example, they believe that John's spirit was literally carried to the time of the Dark Ages to witness the slaughtering of men, women and children by the Roman Catholic Church. They believe that John's spirit was also literally there at the precise time to witness Christians being eaten alive by wild beasts in the Roman sports arenas where pagans gathered to enjoy the brutalities. They believe that his spirit was again literally taken further into the future to see the Two Witnesses prophesy the Word of God in the Land of Israel. Such teaching is completely contrary to simple Bible exegesis. The fact is that John was never literally taken by the Spirit of God into the past or the future to witness the events. If it was so, he would have recorded literally all that he had witnessed. Instead the Book of Revelation is full of symbols. The truth is that, though his physical body was on the Isle of Patmos, John was caught up in the Spirit of Revelation, in a vision, to see and bear witness of all that he was shown concerning the future (and a little of the past). It all happened in 96 A.D. What he actually saw were pictorial scenes depicting certain truths and events. Symbols were mostly used in the series of visions so that only the true endtime Bible believers who have the spirit of wisdom and revelation would understand what they mean. The true believers will understand between what was depicted symbolically and what was shown literally in John's vision.
In this Laodicean Age, which is the last Church Age, the Lord has advised the believers in the church to have their eyes anointed with eyesalve, that they may see and understand their condition (cf. Rev.3:18). However, one must prayerfully seek for the “eyesalve” from the Lord. The “eyesalve” is that which the faithful Apostle Paul had prayed to the Lord for the Ephesian believers — “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:15-20). Amen. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). That's right. Now, God does not want your flesh, which is corrupt and full of deceit. He wants your spirit, which is your inward man, that He may set you in heavenly places in Christ Jesus in the revelation of His Word. He wants you to be enlightened and to understand all things concerning the Bride of Christ until you are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and be caught away in the rapture of the Bride.
“And one sat on the throne.” This is a self-evident statement: John saw One sat on the Throne because there is only One God. If there is a Trinity (of Gods) John would have seen three Gods sitting on three thrones in heaven. If you are a believer of a Holy Trinity, you should now realise that you are being deceived by traditional theology of man. Most Trinitarian theologians have chopped God into three pieces. Some theorize that there is One Throne with Three Persons sitting on it; others believe that there are Three Thrones for the Three Persons of God. However, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The Bible states clearly that John saw only “one sat on the throne” and He is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has been invested with the authority of the Almighty God. He now sits in the Father's throne because He has overcome and defeated all the forces of evil by His obedience to the Word of God.
Verse 3: And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Christ Jesus, Who is sitting on the throne, is full of the glory of God. He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9, For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form). He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians1:15). Jesus Christ is the visible form of God that man could see, for the Almighty God is an invisible Spirit Whom no one can see (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16). Amen. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He who knows the Son of God knows the Heavenly Father (John 14:9, cf. 1:18).
The emerald coloured “rainbow round about the throne” signifies the Life, Grace and Mercy of the Almighty as the God of covenants. He cannot lie nor will He fail to keep His promises (cf. Hebrews 6:13-19). Jesus Christ was the “promised SON of the covenant” which God made with Abraham.
Verse 4: And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
These twenty-four Elders represent the Old Testament and the New Testament Church of God. They typify the twelve Patriarchs of Israel of the Old Testament and the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ of the New Testament. These two groups of twelve speak of the following: '2' testifies of witness and '12' signifies the perfect government of God. The Oracles of God came through the Patriarchs of Israel and the foundation of these Oracles was laid by the Apostles through the revelation they received of the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 21:12 we see that the names of the twelve tribes and of the twelve Apostles are inscribed on the gates and on the foundation of the Holy City New Jerusalem respectively. In a way this pictorial scene depicts how the glory and the authority of the Heavenly Father come into His Holy City New Jerusalem, the City that Abraham was looking for (Hebrews 11:10, For he was looking for The City which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.). They come through the Son (the One sitting on the throne, with the glory of the Father), to the Patriarchs and then to the Apostles (the twenty-four elders, with glorified bodies and crowns of authority on their heads, sitting around the throne of God). Now, the glory and authority of God are given not only to the twenty-four elders; they are also given to the members of the Bride of Jesus Christ of every age as more thrones will be set in Heaven according to Revelation 20:4. (Read Revelation 3:21, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 and Daniel 7:27.) In the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, during the Age of Regeneration (Matt.19:28), all the members of the Bride of Christ will be delegated a position of authority by Christ as they reign with Him over the earth. They will continue to hold their positions of authority, after the Great White Throne Judgement is complete, when all the saints that make up the Holy City New Jerusalem will come down upon the New Heaven and New Earth. See? The glory and authority of God come from the top and are spread downwards, like a pyramid, so to speak.
Verse 5: And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
In the Old Testament era, when God met with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai and when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, there were lightnings, thunders, a thick cloud, the voice of trumpet, and earthquake, smoke and fire (Exodus 19:16-18). Such phenomena show the awesome omnipotence of the Almighty God particularly when God is about to pass judgement or show His wrath from His throne. On Mount Sinai, the thick cloud shrouded the glory of God from the people below. But in the vision of John, no shrouding cloud was necessary. Why? Because seated on the throne was the Mercy of God — Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man. It is the Lord Jesus Who stays the wrath of God and save all those who trust in Him. He is the Mercy of God Who took the form of man to feel our infirmities (Phil.2:7; Heb.5:1-6). He imparts to man the Grace of God.
Notice that John also heard voices coming from the throne. These voices denote revelations proceeding from the throne. Every true revelation must originate from the Throne of God. In Revelation 1:15; 14:2 and 19:6 we read that His voice sounded like many waters. It is soothing, sweet and peaceful compared to the loud trumpeting voice on Mount Sinai which produced fear in the children of Israel.
“And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” This shows that the fire of God lit the lamps of all the Seven Church Ages. In every age, after a message was given, the Spirit that was responsible for the message would keep the Word of God alive in the Bride of Christ in his age until God lit another lamp. In the Old Testament, the golden candlestick with seven lamps was placed on the southern side of the Holy Place facing the table of shewbread. Its fire, which brightened the whole room, was actually taken off from the brazen altar which stood on the western side by the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. This fire from the altar originally fell from God. The High Priest took the fire and lit the first lamp and from it he lit the rest. Hence, we see a reflection of this in the New Testament. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Fire of God came down like a mighty rushing wind and stayed on for about 23 years. As the fire began to die, the Seven Candlesticks were set up. Picking up the original fire that fell at Pentecost, Jesus Christ lit the first lamp through the first of the Seven Spirits. The fire burned for some years and before it went out, Christ lit another lamp as the second Spirit picked up the fire. This continued consecutively until all the Seven Lampstands were lit. The fire on the last Lampstand, which was lit sometime in the beginning of the 20th Century, is about to go out in this age. But the living members of the Bride of Christ are pulling away from the spirit of Laodicea as Christ lifts them higher into the prophetic realm of the Spirit of God. There, in that prophetic 'Eagle' realm, Christ imparts the complete revelation of Himself to His Bride. The Bride does not only get the revelation of the Word, she also reaches out for the anointing, the life and the glory — all that Christ is. Amen! She is gradually dying to self as she gets into the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 6: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
Verse 7: And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
This “sea of glass like unto crystal” denotes a sea of people who are pure and holy. These are the chosen few who are the redeemed and the overcomers of every age. They stand before their Lord and Master and await their rewards (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Later, they will sit on thrones set up for them (Rev.20:4).
There is another “sea of glass” in Revelation 15:2 but it is “mingled with fire”. This sea of people came through the fire of the Great Tribulation. They died for their faith. They are the Tribulation Saints who “had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name”. They will resurrect and be judged before the Millennial Reign of Christ begins (Rev.20:4).
The “four beasts” should be called the “four living creatures”. They are guardian angels with great intelligence. They know what is before and behind them (cf. Ezekiel 1:5,18). They guard the way to the “Tree of Life”. Right after the Fall of Adam and Eve, God expelled the couple from the Garden of Eden and placed these cherubim (some are called seraphim, see Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1 and 10) in the east of the Garden of Eden to keep Adam and Eve (in their fallen state) from ever eating of the “Tree of Life” and live forever. The “Tree of Life” is the Living Word of God. Adam and Eve were eating of this tree until they fell into temptation and ate of the other tree, the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” (which represents the perverted knowledge of the Truth). Hence, what is recorded in the Book of Genesis and in this verse show that fallen man, try as he may, can never partake of eternal life by any other way except the ordained way of the Cross of Christ. Figuratively speaking, no one can sneak up on the “Tree of Life” when so many eyes are constantly watching. Even in the Old Testament time, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt and camped out in the wilderness, God organized them in divine order. Compassing around the Tabernacle of Moses, there were three tribes on each side with one of these four banners — the likeness of a lion, an ox, a man and a flying eagle. Every one of those warriors of Israel would fight and die, if necessary, just to guard the Ark of the Covenant that was in the Tabernacle.
In the New Testament, we have the Four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Respectively, these four books reflect the nature and characteristics of Jesus Christ as the lion, which represents His royalty and kingship; the ox, which represents His patience and sacrifice; the man, which represents His sympathy and humanity; and the flying eagle, which represents His glorious majesty and divinity. These four books guard as well as open up the way to eternal life. They are the 'Good News' of salvation in Christ Jesus Who is seated on the Throne of God. So, the only way by which one can come into the Life of God is the 'Gospel Way'.
Verse 8: And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
These living creatures were not created and programmed by God to worship Him day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come”. Some preachers, in an effort to ensure that their teachings stick, have literally made a nonsense of certain Scriptural doctrines. They teach that the angelic beings were programmed to worship God robotically. In Genesis 1:26, in speaking to the angels, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”. If the angelic beings were created in the image and likeness of God, then they certainly could not be robots. They have the freewill to make their own choices. Like Adam and Eve, these living creatures, together with all the other heavenly beings, were tested at some point in time past after they were created. Unlike the one-third of the heavenly host who chose to follow Lucifer in His rebellion against the authority of God, these creatures made the right choice of serving the Lord willingly. Of course, the difference between the angelic beings and mankind is that, one is created to be the bond-servants of God; the other to be the children of God. One is accepted through OBEDIENCE as servants, the other is accepted through the BLOOD (of God's Only Son) as children.
Verse 9: And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Verse 10: The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
Verse 11: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
What humility! Even with such high positions bestowed upon them, the 24 Elders placed their crowns before the throne, prostrated themselves before the Lord and worshipped Him whenever the four beasts offer glory, honour and thanksgiving to the One sitting on the throne. They offer us an excellent example of humility in respect of our position in the Church of God because people tend to get high-minded when they are in certain positions. Some make themselves lords over God's heritage while others make themselves the chiefest of God's servants.
Let us be really humble and worship the Lord, giving Him all glory, honour and power. Amen.
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Revelation Chapter 5
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 5.
The Book Sealed with Seven Seals
Verse 1: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
As the vision continued to unfold before him, John saw a book (scroll) in the right hand of the Almighty God who was sitting on the throne. (“Right” denotes the grace and mercy of God.) This scroll not only contained writings on the inside but also on the back of it showing that the contents were full and complete. This scroll was the “title deed” to the earth. The contents on the inside and on the backside of the scroll were written by the Heavenly Father and sealed with Seven Seals. Everything recorded in the scroll would be entrusted to the ONE who was worthy to take the scroll from His hand.
The scroll contains a story. The story is found in the Book we call the Sacred Scriptures or the Holy Bible (Holy Scroll). It is the story of redemption. Hence, the Holy Scroll can be called the “Book of Redemption” or figuratively, the “Book of Life”. Is your name in the Book of Life? If you do not and cannot identify yourself with the Word of Life (Christ, “the volume of the book” – Psa.40:7) then you are not a part of the Body of Christ. The “Book” contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them. And all those whose names are not found in this “Book” do not have eternal life.
The story of redemption tells of how the Creator-God had originally given this good earth to the Man, Adam. But Adam failed to obey God's commandment by listening to his wife, who was deceived by the Serpent, and brought sin upon themselves and therefore forfeited his right to rule the earth. The “title deed” to the earth was taken away from Adam by the Owner Who then rolled it up and sealed it with seven seals to prevent any unauthorized person from tampering with it or reading it. (Though Satan is being worshipped as the god of this world, he does not have the “title deed”.) The scroll has remained in God's hand until the one who is worthy of it could come and claim it. Only he, who could meet God's requirement in the redemption of this fallen earth and could fulfill it, is worthy to claim and open the sealed scroll from the one seated on the throne. Once he has broken and loosen all the seals he could unroll the scroll and look at its contents. He could then begin to claim his rights to all the contents (written on both sides of it) from the Creator-Owner.
Verse 2: And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Verse 3: And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Verse 4: And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Since the time of the Fall of Man, there has not been one worthy enough to take the scroll and open it. None can break the seals or even take a peep at the contents. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). How come? When Eve was deceived by the Satan-inspired Serpent into disobeying the Word of God and partaking of the 'forbidden fruit', she in fact committed fornication with the Serpent. This is the 'original sin' which produced a seed of discrepancy, Cain. In order to stay the wrath of God upon his wife, Adam stepped out of the Word of God to “redeem” Eve by identifying with her fallen state. Thus, Eve also became pregnant with Adam's seed, Abel. Both Cain and Abel were half-brothers through Eve. Adam knew full well what consequences his action might bring. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Tim.2:14). God imputed sin upon Adam for his act.
Through the spiritual and natural acts of fornication between the Serpent and Eve, Satan vicariously fathered a son, named Cain. Cain was the son, or the seed, of the Serpent. Satan's evil traits were inherent in Cain and passed down to mankind through the intermarrying between Cain's and Seth's people. Except for the descendants of Adam (whom God imputed sin) who married their own kind, all the others, beginning with the three sons of Noah, inherited the serpentine nature in their blood. Noah was the last of the pure Sethic firstborn. (According to Jewish tradition, Noah married Naamah, the daughter of Lamech of the Cainic race (Gen.4:19-22). This fact is substantiated by the Word of God since women's names are normally not listed in the genealogies unless they had a special role in the history of mankind.)
Now, the Fall of Man did not catch God unaware. In fact, God foreknew it and permitted it to happen. Why? So that out of corruption shall come forth perfection and beauty (Psm.50:2; Lam.2:15). The Apostle Paul wrote: “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom.8:20-21). Amen. But how? Through the Seed of God — Jesus Christ Who was virgin born! Why? To bypass the original sin. It was absolutely essential for the Redeemer to have pure, undefiled blood running in His veins and arteries. He had to shed His blood upon the earth to redeem all those predestinated sons and daughters of God who are waiting to be delivered. Yes, Jesus Christ was the ONLY ONE Who could take the scroll and break the Seven Seals.
John's attention was drawn to the seven-seal Book by a strong angel's proclamation asking for some worthy person to open the scroll and loosen its seals. He realized the importance of the Seven Seals and that the scroll was no ordinary scroll. By the spirit of revelation he knew that it was the “title deed” to redemption and, unless someone claimed it, all would be lost.
For a while, no one went forward to claim the scroll. And John wept with feelings of despair that there would be no redemption. You and I would weep too, if we were there with John. Oh, mine! Now, just imagine that we were there with John: we knew that there was a man “who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Pet.2:22) and His name was Jesus. He came to fulfill God's Word and died willingly to pay the price of redemption. He resurrected and ascended to Heaven. But, what if Jesus did not go forward to claim the “title deed”? It would mean that there was actually no redemption, and creation would just continue as it was. Yes, we would weep. But — hallelujah! — redemption would be claimed and we would be in our rightful positions! The earth would be claimed and God's Eden restored to its place, and God would come down and be with His people! Praise the Lord!
Can you see why God had to give His Only Begotten Son as “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2)? Can you fathom God's love that when “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6)? Do you know what trepidation Jesus had, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when it came to the drinking of the cup of suffering and death that He prayed so earnestly to God to let it pass from Him? Can you feel the pain of Jesus when “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7)? Can you visualize Him in the Prætorium, and feel His pain and agony, when those wicked soldiers scourged Him, beat Him, mocked Him, spat upon Him and plunged a crown of thorns deep into the flesh of His head? He was so bloody. What about the humiliation He faced when they crucified Him on the cross and even took away the 'garment of decency' from Him, leaving Him completely naked? Can you understand why Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” while He was dying on Calvary's Cross (Mark 15:34)? Can you? Can you continue to live in sin after knowing all that Christ had gone through specially for you? Think about it.
Why did He do all that for us? Because the Love of God compelled Him. Why did He drink that bitter cup? Because He was God's Grace and Mercy to us. But why? So that He could go right up to the throne of grace and mercy, take that seven-seal Book from the right hand of God Who sits on the throne, break those Seven Seals and claim redemption! So that He could claim the earth, especially the predestinated seeds of God that fell short of the glory of God! If you are a predestinated seed, you would not hesitate to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (cf. Acts 2:38). You should be grateful. And having received His Spirit of Life, you should walk worthy of that Gospel Light. Amen. Redemption has come. Hallelujah! The bleeding Lamb of God was the supreme price that God had paid for you and me.
Verse 5: And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Verse 6: And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Praise the Lord! Amen! But who is this Lion of the tribe of Judah? He is none other than Jesus Christ Who is not only the King of Israel, but Who is also the King of all born again saints of His spiritual kingdom. Even as a King, He did not have the right to redeem because God demanded a lamb. So He became a Lamb. And He prevailed. Hallelujah! Christ is the King and Saviour to all who believe in Him. That was why John saw a lamb, instead of a lion, which appeared as if it had been slain, standing in the midst of the throne area. The lamb “had been slain”; it had death wounds on its body. It was bloody looking but it was alive as it stood there “in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders”. Amen! Mercy is there before the throne of God. It has been there for more than nineteen centuries. But soon it would not be there anymore for we are living at the closing hour of the last Church Age. As soon as the Bride of Christ has received the fullness of the revelation of the Seventh (opened) Seal, God would turn back to the Jews and there would be no more mercy for the Gentiles.
Notice, the lamb had “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth”. Remember, what John saw was a vision, a pictorial scene, illustrative of God's truth. No such animal existed. Also, the lamb is not a person. It personifies a person accomplishing a ministerial work on earth. God is showing Christ as a Mediator Who presented His life as a bloody sacrifice for sin to save mankind from eternal damnation. Truly, if you have the same Spirit of revelation and wisdom as John had you would know that the Lamb and the One sitting on the throne are actually the same ONE but only in different offices.
Now, the Seven Spirits which stood before the throne of God (Rev.1) identified themselves so closely with Christ in His work throughout the Church Ages that they became a part of the Lamb. Here they are described as horns and eyes on the head of the lamb because they worked with the Head of the Church. Horns and eyes signify power and knowledge respectively. Hence, the “seven horns and seven eyes” denote the omnipotence (all-powerful) and omniscience (all-knowing) of Christ Jesus in His dealing with His saints in His Church. Prophet Zechariah described them as “the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth” (Zech.4:10). Yes, these seven Spirits worked very closely with Christ, even in manifesting the seven redemptive names of God which Christ was invested with: “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (Isa.11:2).
Verse 7: And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Verse 8: And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Remember that John saw all these in a vision. The One sitting on the throne is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, Who had overcome and now sits on the Father's Throne. He is all of God, the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6). He is the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). God and Christ are one (John 10:30, 38). But the lamb personifies Jesus Christ in His work as a Sacrificial Lamb. Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ is worthy of worship for He, Who was slain as a Lamb, has prevailed as a Lion (of the Tribe of Judah) and obtained the right to sit on the Father's Throne.
The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb and worshipped Him. Each had a harp and a golden vial that was filled with the prayers of the saints. Yes, God loves the adoration of His saints, their praises and prayers. He always remembers them. The Apostle Paul wrote, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). Yes, God loves the aroma of the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving offered by His saints.
Verse 9: And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Verse 10: And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
In Revelation 4:9-11 they sung the song of creation. Here it is the “new song” of redemption with specific reference to the Lamb's worthiness to open the scroll because of His work of redemption. The Amplified Bible gives a better rendition of the verses: “And [now] they sing a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to break the seals that are on it, for You were slain (sacrificed) and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And You have made them a kingdom [royal race] and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!” Amen. Truly Jesus Christ, as a bloody lamb, was worthy to take the Book and to open and loose the Seven Seals because He willingly gave His life to be slain on the cross. With His blood He has redeemed a kingdom of people from all over the world to rule with Him as kings in the great Millennial Reign of Christ. These same redeemed people are also made a priesthood and thus they do not need a priest to mediate for them. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9). “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
In Daniel 7:13-14 and 18, the Prophet Daniel described an almost similar vision: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed…But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”
Verse 11: And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Verse 12: Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Not only the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before the Lamb to worship Him but all the angels in Heaven also lifted their voices and worshipped the Lamb. Notice that the worship was directed at the Lamb. Why? Because He was slain and had overcome and was therefore worthy to receive all the praises and adoration. Because He had overcome He was worthy to take the sealed scroll and open it. Because He could take the sealed scroll and loose the seals He was worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.
Verse 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Verse 14: And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Hallelujah! Every creature in the whole universe had to worship and glorify the Lamb because He was truly worthy. If He had not accomplished what He was ordained to do then there would be no redemption, and creation would continue and end in death. So, can you see and understand why special emphasis was placed upon the lamb and the sealed scroll? Can you understand the mood of jubilation and exaltation around the throne? John saw all these in a vision but God is now revealing them to us in reality. That's why it is important for the saints of God in this hour to recognize the ministry of Christ in His Word. That's why Christ, Who has been shut out of the church in this age, is standing and knocking at the door of every heart, saying “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev.3:20). He wants you to get intimate with Him so that He may give you the revelation which He has received from the Heavenly Father. He wants to perfect you and make you ready for the Rapture. He is doing all this through His Five Ascension Gift Ministry (Eph.4:11-16). He is ministering His Word through the Apostles whom He has ordained to lead in the rebuilding of His Church. It was the early Twelve Apostles of Christ who laid the foundation of the Church (Eph.2:20 cf. Rev.21:14). They were the interpreters of the Divine Word prophesied by the Old Testament Prophets.
The Word of the Lord came to the Prophets in the Old Testament. They spoke of THE PROPHET of Prophets who was to come and save the children of Israel. And when Grace was given and the Law was fulfilled by THE PROPHET, Jesus Christ, a new order was set up because a New Covenant was made. That's why the Apostle Paul said that Christ became THE APOSTLE (not THE PROPHET) and the High Priest of the Christians' profession (Heb.3:1). Then we see that the revelation of the Prophetic Word began to come unto the Apostles. Do you know that none of the epistles containing the revelation of the Lord to the Church was written by a Prophet? That's why Jesus Christ set in the Church a 5-Fold Ministry headed by the Apostles, and followed by Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.
With the Elect being called back to the Apostolic Word by the message of the Seventh Church Age Messenger, there is a need for an Apostolic Ministry to set the Church on the firm foundation of the Word just like the early Church did: the believers “continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). That's right, the Church needs to be established on the proper foundation of the Word of God. Amen.
Saints of God, do you see the Lord Jesus Christ in our midst? Do you recognize the true ministry of the offices of the 5-Fold Ministry which God has ordained to interpret the Word to the Endtime Bride of Christ in order to get her ready for the change in her body? There are much confusions in Christianity and even among the Endtime Message believers. As not all Israel are true Israel (Romans 9:6), likewise not all believers are true believers. But “he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev.3:22). Amen. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:12-14).
Therefore let us put on the eyesalve of the Holy Spirit and get that gold which has been tried in the fire that we may be rich and that we may put on the white raiment at the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Maranatha! Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
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Revelation Chapter 6
