REVELATION 1:
WHO IS JESUS AND BY WHAT HE SHOULD BE WORSHIPED?
Introduction
Once that Apocalypse is revelation, then it isn’t
a commentary on the book of Daniel, but a revealing of what was hidden in the
book of Daniel.
Revelation 1 reveals Jesus and the chapters 21
and 22, our eternal stay with Him.
Note: chapter one and from four to twenty-two,
John wrote what he saw. Chapters two and three were dictated by Jesus.
The Church is referred of seven ways in
revelation:
1. Men of every tribe and
tongue and people and nation (Rev 5.9);
2.
Kings and
priests (Rev 5.10);
3.
Servants
(Rev 11.18; 19.2,5);
4.
Brothers
(Rev 12.10);
5. The children of Israel
(Rev 12.17);
6. Saints (Rev 13.7,10;
14.12; 18.20,24);
7. Bride of the Lamb
(Rev 19.7).
Explicit groups of seven elements:
a. Churches (Rev 1:4,11,20);
b. Spirits (Rev 1:4; 3:1;
4:5; 5:6);
c. Golden Candlesticks (Rev
1:12,13,20; 2:1);
d. Stars (Rev 1:16,20;
2:1; 3:1);
e. Lamps of fire (Rev
4:5);
f. Seals (Rev 5:1; 5:5);
g. Horns (Rev 5:6);
h. Eyes (Rev 5:6);
i. Angels who remain before
God (Rev 8:2,6);
j. Trumpets (Rev 8:2,6);
k. Thunder (Rev 10:3,4);
l. Seven thousand people dead (Rev
11:13);
m. Heads (Rev 12:3;
13:1; 17:3,7,9);
n. Crowns (Rev 12:3);
o. Seven angels pour the seven
plagues (Rev 15.8);
p. Plagues (Rev 15:1,6,8;
21:9);
q. Vials (Rev 15:7; 17:1;
21:9);
r. Mountains (Rev 17:9);
s. Kings (Rev 17:10,11);
Implicit groups of seven elements:
a. Beatitudes (Rev 1:3;
14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14);
b. Seven "I am"
of Christ (Rev 1:8,11,17; 2.23; 21:6; 22:13,16);
c. Groups of doxologies in
heaven (Rev 4:9-11; 5:8-13; 7:9-12; 11:16-18; 14:2.3; 15:2-4; 19:1-6);
d. Every tribe, tongue,
people and nation (Rev 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:5);
e. The Lord God Almighty (Rev
1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 19:6; 21:22);
f. Prophecy (Rev 1:3;
11:6; 19:10; 22:7,10,18,19);
g. One who is seated on the
throne (Rev 4.2, 9.10; 5:1,7,13; 6:16; 7:15; 21:5);
h. The Alpha and Omega (Rev
1:8,17; 21:6; 22:13).
During the first coming of Christ, He lived covering
His glory, that is to say, emptying of Himself (Phil 2.5-8). When,
however, Jesus comes again, he will manifest to all the fullness of His glory
(Mark 14:61-62; Rev 1:7).
But after all, who is Jesus? It seems like a silly
question. However, think: if the question is as silly as well, then why does
the first chapter of the Book of Revelation give a description so thorough of Jesus (Rev 1.13-18)?
1) His clothes (Rev 1.13)
- clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded by breasts with a belt of
gold. This shows all the wisdom that there is in the righteousness of God.
2) His head and hair (Rev 1.14)
- were white as white wool, like snow. Jesus is the one in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2.3).
3) Their Eyes (Rev 1.14)
- are as a flame of fire. Jesus is the one who sees and searches, so
that nothing is hidden that will not be revealed (Matt 10.26; Mark
4.22; Luke 12.2).
4) His Feet (Rev 1.15) - his
feet, like fine brass, as if they had been refined in a furnace:
a.
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your
feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." (Rom 16.20);
b.
"And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,
saith the LORD of hosts." (Malachi
4.3);
c.
"For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet." (1Cor 15:25);
d. "And hath put
all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church," (Eph 1.22);
In short, everything that does not profit must
be under the feet to be burned. That is to say, Jesus is the one whose steps
(Path) annihilates with all the power of darkness (Joshua 1.6-9; Luke 10.19).
5) His Voice (Rev 1.15) -
as the voice of many waters (Psalms 29.3-9). When we hear the voice
of the Eternal, the Holy Spirit can make in us much more than all the multitude
that exists in the world.
6) His hand (Rev 1.16) -
He had in His right hand seven stars. Jesus is the One who has authority and
power (Matt 28.18) to save from falling (2Peter 2.9; Jude 24)
and deliver the godly out of temptations, so that no one can snatch His
sons from His hands (John 10:28).
7) His mouth (Rev 1.16) -
out of his mouth went a sharp sword of two edges. It is with this sword that
Jesus will smite the wicked (Rev 19.25). With the breath of His mouth
Jesus will undo the wicked (2Thess 2:8). In other words, Jesus is the one whose
word is alive and effective (Heb 4.12).
8) His Face (Rev 1.16) -
it was like the sun, when in its strength shines. The light from the sun dims
the brightness of lamps and stars, so that they will disappear and those
become useless.
a. Jesus did not need to veil
as Moses (2Cor 3:13). The veil is not the Eternal separating Himself from
the man, but this is hiding from Him and the neighbor. Sin makes any
act of kindness to be shallow, carnal and passenger and, for this reason, the
person must always be covering.
b.
Jesus, being the truth, not hide it, nor even in the midst of the
greatest persecution, but always manifest it, overshadowing the wisdom of any
person and ending with the whole blindness (John 9.5,39-41; 2Cor 4.3,4).
9) His perennial - The First
and Last (Rev 1.17) - For of him, and through him, and to him, are all
things (Romans 11.36). Nothing escapes the control of Him (Job 42.2).
If He acts, no one can prevent (Isaiah 43.13).
10)
His Victory Triumph (Rev 1.18) - I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore:
a. The real victory comes
after we die to ourselves (1 Corinthians 15.36). The One
who died ceased from sin (Romans 6.7; 1Peter 4.1);
b. Not only did Jesus is
alive, but He lives forever and ever.
c. In addition to having
risen, Jesus conquered death and has authority over death and hell,
as well as in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). In other words,
nothing more happens in heaven or on earth, whether in life or in death,
whether in heaven or in hell without Jesus permits.
As for the likeness of the book of Revelation with the other prophecies:
·
The introduction and conclusion of the book of Revelation resemble
the book of Daniel.
·
The determination of the times has to do with Daniel;
·
The architecture of the holy city has a relationship with Ezekiel;
·
The description of a child generated and the promises to Zion has
relation with Isaiah;
·
The trial of Babylon has relation with Jeremiah;
·
The horses, candlesticks resemble the vision of Zechariah.
It is also worth noting that the expression "kings of the
earth" is often used in Revelation (Rev 1:5; 6:15; 16.14; 17:2.18;
18:3.9; 19:19; 21:24). No prophecy in the Testament of the Law is called
Revelation, which teaches us that its goal is to discover what the law has not
been able to find out.
This is why it can be said that the theme of this chapter is to show
with clarity Who is this who reveals mysteries.
The antichrist represents the largest and most powerful enemy flesh that
it’s possible emerge on the face of the earth. And once he is defeated by Jesus
in Rev 19, this means that there isn’t an enemy big enough to be able
to destroy everything that Jesus has for us.
The most feared pests can exist are all sent by Jesus according to his
will for the good of the Church. Therefore, no matter what plague that appears
in your life, Jesus is well above it and everything allows so you can be more
useful to his Church (Romans 8.28).
Although the revelation contains many of the precious doctrines of the
faith, the revelation did not need to have been written for this, since such
definitions are contained in other parts of Scripture. Thus, its main purpose
is to reveal who is Jesus and what is His will for our lives.
The book of Revelation contains more than 500 allusions to the testament
of the law, being that 278 of the 404 verses (almost 70%) make some reference
to the Testament of the Law. It is characterized by being a book of
contrasts:
·
Events that brief should happen and facts with whose accomplishment
is very distant;
·
Very large and very small things;
·
Terrible things and pleasant promises;
·
Repeated words of old prophecies and new things;
All these things are interwoven ones in other, opposite one another, but
in total agreement and mutually involving and developing one another. They
refer to one another from a small or large range and, thus, sometimes
disappear, stop the narrative and, later, unexpectedly, at the appropriate
time, return to the sight.
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:"
(Rev 1.1 - ACF)".
John did not receive a theological explanation dry and
dead of future events. He received a prophetic revelation powerful dynamic and
capable of transforming lives.
John signified the message of Revelation, i.e., the
communicated by means of signs. And so He proceeded because the heavenly things
cannot always be expressed through words (2 Corinthians 12.4).
The fact of calling the followers of the Eternal of
children does not mean that, in fact, they are slaves. Instead, it is a title
of honor used to show that the individual has usefulness to the Eternal.
We are depending on what? The others have relied on us
for what? What we are leading them to expect of us? At this time so difficult,
we cannot continue depending on who has no commitment to Christ, nor make them
think that we can be the supply of your needs.
With the forthcoming of the mark of the beast
(Rev 13.16.17), the less involvement with the system that
governs this world implies in eternal death, so that we will have to live
by faith (Hc 2.4; Rom
1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10.38). Hence a
need for revelation of who Jesus is and what needs to happen quickly (i.e.,
being shortened - Romans 9.28).
When all this starts to happen, Jesus comes without
delay.
We often ask ourselves if the apostles, when writing their
books, knew they were writing a word coming from the Eternal. In the case of
John he knew, since he makes this clear, as did the prophets of the Testament
of the Law.
The term "revelation of Jesus Christ" only
occurs in 1Peter (1Peter 1.7.13), and Galatians (Gal 1.12). Similar
expressions can be seen in (1 Peter 4:13; 1 Corinthians 1:7; 2
Thessalonians 1:7; Galatians 1:12).
It is Revelation (and not revelations). In other
words, this should not be understood as separate themes (although we
can learn many things in several areas), but as a revelation of Jesus
(body and head) in several areas. Christ is, at the same time, the Mystery
and the Revealer of the mystery.
The best meaning of revelation should be to
cover again. And this is what happens to those who try to study the revelation
out of curiosity or to flaunt worldly wisdom (see 1 Corinthians 2.1-5) and
entice the many.
Jesus is not only the matter of the book of
Revelation, but also one that shows Himself to everyone. Notice how most things
are transmitted to John by angels. However, when it was to speak of Jesus, no
angel was sent to speak of Him. He showed Himself to John. This is because
no description about Jesus would be as accurate and precise. Neither the
biggest and best of angels is able to describe Jesus with perfection. And even
if it were, never John could have an exact understanding, except seeing Him. Jesus
is the reality, and not just a commentary of a historical figure.
The revelation is not static of something that has
happened, is happening or will happen, but a living revelation about Jesus in
the midst of all type of situation that the Church can live.
Likewise, the focus of the Church today should never be
talking about Jesus, but show Him. The Church can speak of other things
pertaining to the Kingdom of the Eternal. However, only Jesus can speak of Himself.
And this also shows that we can only know Jesus right when we see Him. And
considering that Jesus said He would prepare place for us so that, where He
was, we could also be (Jn 14.1-3), therefore we
can't conform to get away from Him.
The Father gave revelation to His Son who, in turn,
gave it to His angel, who, then, gave it to John who wrote it to his brothers
in the faith.
The fact that the message is delivered to John through
an angel means that it would be delivered in the form of signs and symbols. However,
the things John saw were not mere symbols, but rather the meaning of all
things involving the life of the follower of Jesus. In other words,
it isn’t the symbol that means anything; rather, the symbol is a picture of
what really is this something. For example: it isn’t the beast which represents
the gentile empire; rather, this empire is a beast (see James 3:15).
Someone may ask: but if the Eternal wants so much that
the Church understands the message of Revelation, then why is there so much
symbolism? Would the Eternal making a game like "guess the mystery"?
Certainly not! As John is expressing things from the
point of view of heaven, he needs to symbols, since there are things that are
impossible to be expressed (2Cor 12.4). It’s necessary the intercession of
the Holy Spirit so that we can understand (Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 14.2).
Also note the expression "things that soon should
happen" (referring to Dan 2.28; cf. also Rev 4.1; 22.10).
The Eternal, to reveal to His servants the things which should happen soon (see
Rev 4.1), made of Jesus a revelation. The Eternal, in Jesus, reveals who
He is and what He wants to operate and the things that would characterize the
end of times.
This, above all, shows that Jesus never spoke for Himself,
but only what the Eternal instructed Him to speak (John 3.32; 5.19,20,30;
7.16,17,28; 8.26,28,38,40; 12.49).
Here are those who speak with John:
1st - Jesus Himself (Rev 1.10.11;
4.1);
2nd - One of the elders
(Rev 5.5);
3rd - Each one of the four living
creatures called John to come and look (Rev 6.1);
4th - One of the elders
(Rev 7.13);
5th - The Lord and His angel who
standing on the sea and on the land (Rev 10.8.9);
6th - In Rev 17.1 the angel
speaks with John to make him understand the things.
7th - One of the seven angels who
had the seven vials (Rev 21.9).
There is a detail to consider: Since Jesus
sent the book of Revelation to John through His angel (singular), then how do
you explain so many people talking with 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." (Rev 1.2).
About what John testified?
1 - The Word of God. This
expression occurs five times in Revelation (Rev 1:2.9; 6:9; 19:13; 20:4).
This is the name of Jesus (Rev 19.13), as well as the cause of the
persecution of the righteous (Rev 1.9; 6.9; 20.4). John does not testified
about the word of the Eternal as if it were a mere set of rules to be followed,
but something alive and effective (Hebrews 4.12). John was showing that
the word of the Eternal is not something dead, much less to be transformed into
a religion.
2 - The testimony
of Jesus Christ. The expression "testimony of Jesus" occurs
five times (Rev 1:2.9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4). John did not speak of Jesus
that he met while sojourning here, but of Jesus in His glory and majesty that He was
knowing in this vision called revelation, as well as about all the attention it devotes to this
world.
Even more: John testified
of the testimony that Jesus gave while he was in this world, as well as
of all its effectiveness at the present.
In other words, John revealed
the true meaning of everything Jesus did in this world.
3 - And everything
that he saw. Finally, John testified about the outcome of the whole work of
Jesus on the cross for all generations.
John was not a witness
simply because they saw and heard the revelation, but also because he received
the word of the Eternal and the witness that Jesus endured of the truth. It
is good to remember that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy
(Rev 19.10).
John not only saw,
but lived the revelation in order to be able to bear witness to
Christ. He can experience within himself everything which Christ feels when He
sees the evil.
In short: The Eternal
gave Jesus the revelation, i.e., made him a revelation and, through His
messenger (angel), notified Jesus to John (revealed to him all the
greatness of Jesus), which shew everything to those who serve the Eternal. This
is what constitutes the words of this prophecy (Rev 1.3).
To be more accurate: The Eternal
testified to John about the testimony of Jesus Christ by which he was arrested in Patmos (Revelation 1.9).
In other words, the Eternal allowed him to know more precisely what was to be
the testimony of Jesus by which he and many others were being afflicted.
Therefore, the book of
Revelation is where we can see what it really means to serve Christ.
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." (Rev 1.3).
Revelation was written to
the Church when it was still young. Nowadays, individuals claim that the
book of Revelation is difficult to be understood. But if it was not to be
understood, why Jesus would go to reveal it?
Note the use of the
expressions: "he that readeth" (singular),
"those who hear and keep" (plural). As in the time of John there was
no press, there was no one who had a copy of the Bible. Therefore, the more
common was simply read the Bible (as seen in Nehemiah 8.8; Deuteronomy 31:11;
Jeremiah 36:6; Luke 4:16; Acts 15:21; Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27).
Thus, the focus was on
listening to the Holy Scriputre as it was written
(unlike today where the priority is placed on the interpretation given by the
religious leader).
When the Church met, one
read and the others were listening. In other words, this apparent
difficulty (of being few those who knew to read and who had the Holy Scripture
with them) served in order that each one focus on listening to the pure Sacred
Scripture and, thus, give place to the Eternal
teaching him.
The beatitude is not to
simply read, as does the gnostic who takes pleasure in knowledge (see
1Corinthians 1.22). After all, it is only blessed those who have intimacy
with Jesus (1Corinthians 2.9; Ephesians 1.3). That is to say, the
blessing is letting that Christ live His life in us (Luke 11.28). That
is, the book of Revelation is not for mere speculation, but to be kept,
i.e., to change the lives of all those who hear and read it.
And considering that no
one could be considered blessed for hearing unintelligible words, therefore,
the book of Revelation is possible to be understood.
Understand: The Book of Revelation
is intended to show who Jesus is and to clarify that the real reason for the
prophecy is to give place to that Jesus can bear witness of Himself where
we are. The Eternal gives us a prophecy because He has a work to
do in us and through us.
John didn't see anything
that had not be with one of these two items above. You can observe that, no
matter how many prophecies are given, all purpose is to reveal to us who the Eternal
is, as well as what He wants to do, by means of what is shown.
Also, this issue of the
testimony of Christ is so strong that Paul emphasizes the importance of same
have been confirmed in the midst of the Corinthians (1Corinthians 1.6).
Not to mention that the martyrs were justified because they were killed by the
Word of the Eternal and the witness who they gave (Rev 6.9). Not to
mention that the whole fight of the dragon is against those who keep the
commandments of the Eternal and have the testimony of Jesus Christ
(Rev 12.17).
Happy of who reads the
Scripture (in particular this prophecy) to the other hear and happy
those who are willing to listen to what the Holy Scripture has to say
about Jesus (this is the first of seven beatitudes of revelation
- Rev 1.3; 14.13; 16.15; 19.9; 20.6; 22.7,14).
But above all, blessed is
the one who decides to keep (this includes practicing) everything
that is written. After all, the time that all of this will be fulfilled in the
life of every one of us is near. Note as the briefness of the coming of Jesus
is quite emphasized (Rom 9.28; 13.11; James 5.8; 1 Peter 4.7), especially
in the book of Revelation (Rev 4.1; 22.6,7,10,20).
And it is well understood:
for whom belongs to Jesus, the time to be used by Him is at hand, i.e., always
the time for the fulfilment of all the revelation in our lives is close to us
(such as the Kingdom of the Eternal was and is - Luke 1.15).
In addition, here we sees
the importance of Revelation: besides being the only book that loads directly
with a promise to those who read, hear and guard (although this is true for the
rest of Holy Scripture - Psalms 1.1.2; Luke 11.28), the angel
presents himself as bondservant of those who keep the words of this book
(notice how much is emphasized “sayings of the prophecy” - Rev 19.10;
22.6-10,18-19).
Furthermore, there is an urgent need to emphasize the
fact of being ordered to keep the commandments of the book of Revelation. This
means that it is a book with precious instructions about the character that the
followers of Jesus should have.
The reading of the book of
Revelation should bring us closer to Jesus in faith, hope and love, as well as
to understand this dispensation in which we are living (Luke 12.54-57).
It is a question:
what is the purpose of an angel to reveal the word to John (Rev 22.16)?
Why did Jesus not reveal everything directly to him?
The book of Revelation is a
revelation with regard to Christ (the author) and a prophecy, with respect to
John that should deliver it to the Church.
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;" (Rev 1.4).
For signing simply
"John", he was certain that there would be no confusion. In other
words, even though there was another John in any of the seven groups to whom he
was addressing, he was certain that there would be not confused. To
be sure, John had good intimacy with each of those to whom he was writing.
This is characteristic of
someone who has a holy character and irreproachable, who does not need to hide
his identity.
John writes to seven oholyao to show us how insidiously the 7 forms of
religion can threaten the Church of Christ, which we must combat allowing
the life of Christ to prevail.
As for the number seven,
this number is used to designate all, something complete:
·
7Th day was a day of rest (Gen 2.3; Ez 20.13);
·
It was after the 7th day that the baby was circumcised (Gen 17.12);
·
The number of purification and consecration was seven (Leviticus 4:6,
Leviticus 4:17; Leviticus 8:11, Leviticus 8:33; Numbers 19:12);
·
The 3 sacred celebrations lasted
for 7 days (Deut 15.1; 16.9,13,15), being that
in the 7th month there were 3 special occasions;
·
Every seven years the land should rest and after 7 x 7 years, was the
year of jubilee, where all the slaves were freed and the land returned to
belong to their owners;
·
Naaman should dip seven times in the Jordan
(2Kings 5.10) to recognize that the Eternal is the author of healing;
·
Joshua should encircle Jericho for seven days, and, on the last day
should encircle seven times (Joshua 6.4,15,16) so that Israel knew that
the conquest of the city was something given by the Eternal.
·
There were seven churches, seven golden lampstands, the seven stars,
seven spirits of God, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls;
·
Seven was the number of reward for those who were faithful to the
covenant (Deuteronomy 28:7; 1 Samuel 2:5).
·
Seven was the number of punishments for
those who disobeyed the covenant of eternal (Leviticus 26:21,24,28; Deuteronomy 28:25).
·
Seven was the number of punishment for
those who were hurting the neighbor (Genesis 4:15,24; Exodus 7:25; Psalm 79:12).
·
When the Eternal wanted to exalt Joseph in
Egypt, He allowed seven years of plenty and seven years of famine (Genesis
41.29,30).
·
Seven days have passed on Nebuchadnezzar so that
he could learn that the God of Israel is king over all the earth (Daniel 4.25).
·
There are seven beatitudes in the book of
Revelation.
·
There are seven requests in the prayer of Jesus
(Matthew 6.9-13).
·
When there was a problem at the meeting of the
brethren at Jerusalem, the apostles suggested that seven men of good
reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom come to help.
·
The wisdom of the Eternal has seven
characteristics (James 3.17) and it has hewn their seven pillars (Proverbs
9.1).
All of this without
counting the amount of times the number seven is featured in the book of
Revelation:
·
Seven Spirits before the throne;
·
Seven groups of brothers gathered;
·
Seven
golden candlesticks;
·
Seven stars;
·
Seven lamps
of fire;
·
Seven horns and seven eyes in the Lamb;
·
Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls;
·
Seven thunders;
·
Seven heads on the dragon and the beast rising from
the sea;
·
Seven angels with the seven last plagues;
·
Seven mountains on which the great Babylon is
sitting.
Therefore, the seven oholyao (group of those who believed in Jesus and met
themselves to better understand the Eternal), represent the seven types of
groups that it is possible to exist, i.e., represents the whole Church.
On the other hand, four is
the number of the world organized:
·
Four Elements: earth, air, water and fire;
· Four seasons;
·
Four angels maintains safe the four winds of heaven (for
example, Rev 7.1);
·
Four corners of the earth;
·
Four living creatures, emblem of creation redeemed (Rev 4.6);
·
In Ezekiel, the cherubims had four faces and
four wings (Ezekiel 1.5.6);
·
Four animals (Daniel 2.32,33) and four metals (Daniel 7.3)
representing the four world empires that most influenced humanity;
·
The vessel that Peter saw it looked like a sheet knit at the four
corners (At 10.11);
·
Four horns were the sum of the forces of the world against Israel
(Zechariah 1:8);
·
Four gospels were intended to minister to the four
corners of the earth.
·
The New Jerusalem is foursquare.
·
The fourth horseman, called death, has the power to kill the fourth part
of the earth by means of four agents (Rev 6.8).
·
John identifies four times in Revelation
(Rev 1.1,4,9; 22.8).
The number three also
deserves emphasis, because there are:
·
Three woes
(Rev 8.13);
·
Three unclean spirits like frogs
(Rev 16.13);
·
Three doors on each side of the heavenly city
(Rev 21.13);
·
Three times the Eternal is declared
"holy" (Rev 4.8).
And as the words grace
and peace (Rm 1.7; 1Corinthians 1.3; Galatians 1.3.)?
What does it mean? In a time of great tribulation (Revelation 1.9) and with
prophecies pointing further destruction and suffering, how he could greet the
brethren in Christ in this way?
The Grace (Favor) of the
Eternal is his operation within man (in contrast with the religious
rituals). It is precisely
the ability to love, even in a period so difficult (see 2Cor 8.1-5).
Peace is the way of Jesus
unite His members in contrast to the so-called existing communion between the
members within religious institutions. It is the fruit that comes when we are freed from
material things. After all, the greatest pain is not the material, but the
rejection and betrayal. It is like a bird that, although agonize in their pain,
pays no attention to the causative agent of same, but wait in the Eternal,
whether for healing or for its end in this world.
One of the our biggest
mistakes is to hope that something good can come from this world or of those
who belong to it. We must love those who are born of the Eternal (1 John 5.1),
in particular those who are really close to us, namely, of who we
really are (and not what we think to be or what others insist that we
are).
But after all, who is greeting
the brothers (Rev 1.4)?
·
The one who is, who was and who is to come, i.e., Jesus, the Eternal God
who will come to rapture His church. It is an allusion to the divine name
revealed in Exodus 3.14-15. That is to say, who is welcoming is
someone who never changes (which is always - Exodus 3.14), who will never
abandon His children, but wait with joy the day when He may bring them to Himself.
Also, this is consistent with (Heb 11.39,40),
which shows that the saints are not in the company of the Father, but in
the Sheol. And the rapture represents the day on
which Jesus is waiting for all eternity when, finally, He can bring the Church
to Himself for physical contact in order to, with this, never again separate
themselves;
·
The seven spirits who are before his throne (see Rev 3.1; 4.5;
5.6; Zech 3.9; 4.10), to wit, all the
centers of consciousness that is in the Eternal and that are in council (Jeremiah
23.18.22; Acts 20.27; Eph 1:11). These
are the seven eyes which were in the stone that was placed before the high
priest Joshua (Zechariah 3.9). They show that the Almighty God is involved
completely with his manifold grace (1Peter 4:10) and wisdom (Eph 3.10). He isn’t only from afar looking, or
operates only in part, namely, supplementing the work of man;
·
Jesus Christ, who received authorization and training of the Father to
be the perfect sacrifice that would grant salvation to the Church with His
continuous presence to guide it. When we are what the Eternal never thought
that we were, all we do is not for love of neighbor, but thinking in our
desires (see John 14.28). The true love consists in doing for
others what the Eternal wants to do in their lives.
That is to say, who is
welcoming is the own Eternal, who wishes to engage personally with those who
trust Him fully, in order to work on them the salvation from sin, with views to
the day in that they will may be all the time together physically.
In particular, in the
phrase "who is, who was and who is to come, this last
expression was cited instead of "what will be" in order to be clear
that the Father is in the Son (John 14.9,10).
Comes the question: how the
Church should see Her Bridegroom?
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," (Rev 1.5).
The job of a witness is not
tell a story and discuss about the same. Rather, their role is just
forward all what we experienced (saw, heard, felt and experienced). Jesus
is the faithful witness because His life expressed with extreme fidelity all
the reality in heaven (John 3.13).
Why the Church ought to worship Jesus? See the titles
that Jesus receives:
·
The faithful witness (Isaiah 55.4; 1 Tim 6.13).
·
The firstborn from the dead (Acts 26.23; Col
1:18).
·
The ruler over the kings of the earth (Psalms 89.27; Romans
14.9).
·
The One who loves us;
·
The One who has freed us from our sins by
his blood (Ap 7.14; 12.11; Romans 3.25; Heb 9.14; 1Peter 1.18-19; 1John 1.7). See the freedom from
sin through the blood (Exodus 12.13,23).
a)
As the Faithful Witness (Is 55.4)
- This title shows the prophetic occupation.
Jesus is the faithful witness because He is
not a mere martyr. He really had life to give, and a pure
life. He is the One who draws strength from weakness, glory of shame, joy
and suffering, life from death.
The religious system presents only religious
dogmas. It’s Jesus, and not the religious system, who really shows
the Eternal to all. After all, only He was in heaven, so it is the only One
able to show with exactness all things pertaining to the Eternal and His
kingdom.
All that Jesus heard of the Father, He
transmitted faithfully to His disciples (John 15.15 - i.e., He was PROPHET). He did not speak of what He has heard
from others, but from what He saw and heard the Father doing (John 5.19,30;
7.28; 8.26,28,38,40; 12.49,50; 14.10). Once He knew where He came from and
where He was going (John 8.14), He never ceased to testify about the
Father, even in times of suffering and death (see 1Tim 6.13). Even not under
pressure, because He did not seek glory from men (John 5.41.44), nor is
intimidated by anyone, but taught the path of the Eternal settled at the truth
(Matthew 22.16).
So much so that the Eternal confirmed His
word with miracles (Mark 16.20; Heb 2.5).
Finally, in the day of judgment, Jesus will rise as the faithful witness
that will unmask the evil deeds of the wicked and, especially, of the
workers of iniquity;
Jesus is the only one who faithfully
can testify about who actually converted or not.
b)
The firstborn from the dead (as suggested
by Psalms 89.27; Romans 14.9) - This title reveals the
priestly occupation.
Jesus inherited the birthright that Adam lost.
Jesus is not simply the firstborn from the dead
(first to die - 1 Peter 1.19,20), but the first to be generated from the dead
(Col 1.18). Jesus was the first to die (1Peter 1:20) and resurrect (Acts
26.23; 1Cor 15:20; Col 1:18).
The resurrection of Jesus was, in fact, a birth
(At 13.32,33 - note as "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten you"
is related to the resurrection, and not with the birth of Jesus in the flesh).
He became the first fruit of those who sleep (1Cor 15:20). In other words,
Jesus is the firstborn (first generated) among many brethren (Romans 8.29)
through His resurrection.
When we talk about resurrection, we're not just
talking back to life, but be finally adopted as sons of the Eternal (Romans 8.23).
While here, we are children of the Eternal because we received Jesus (John 1.12).
His presence in our spirit is the guarantee of a live according to His will
(despite the slavery of the soul to sin - Romans 7.25). However,
after the resurrection, our body and soul are also touched by the Holy Spirit.
This is why Jesus is our HIGH PRIESTE, that is to say, the example of
whom we shall be (see 1Corinthians 15.48.49).
In addition, the proof that the affiliation has
to do with the resurrection is that Jesus was declared to be the Son
of the Eternal in power after resurrecting (Rm 1.4). Hence it is said that Jesus was begotten as
son on the day that He rouse (Psalms 2.7; Acts 13.31-35). In other words,
the resurrection is not simply to live again, but completing the process of
membership that began when the Holy Spirit joined Himself to our spirit (1 Cor 6.17).
Comes the question: If Jesus is the firstborn,
how is it possible that the Church is composed of firstborn (Heb 12.23)?
When someone is in Christ, he reveals a
particularity of Christ that nobody else has shown (ex: Abraham was the
firstborn in offering his son as a sacrifice, he was the firstborn in suffering
for their faith in the Eternal). And there is only the firstborn and first
fruits (Jas 1:18) in the Church. There is no place for copies.
c)
The ruler over the kings of the earth - This title reveals
the real occupation.
Kings of the earth is an expression that is
widely used in revelation (Rev 6:15; 17:2; 16; 18:3.9; 19:19; 21:24).
The sovereignty of Jesus is portrayed:
·
(In Ps 2.7-9): Jesus has the nations as
inheritance;
·
(In Ps 89.27): Jesus is the
firstborn, made higher than all the kings of the earth;
·
(In Ps 110.2): Jesus will reign in the
midst of enemies.
·
(in Isa 52.14,15): Jesus is the conquering king. It
is the victory of Christ's kingdom on the kingdoms religious.
d)
The One who loves us (John 13.34;
5; Gal 2,20)
In this version appears
"Unto Him that love us" (present); in others, it appears "Unto
Him that loved us" (past). It is important that we are aware of two
things:
·
We have to look to the past, to the greatest
demonstration of love of the Eternal for all His creation, so that we do not
feel discouraged in the face of adversity (see Romans 8.37);
·
We have to be sure that His love is the same
yesterday, today and forever.
No matter what happens, we
must never lose sight of everything that Jesus did for us on the cross.
Jesus' love for us is not static, but a love that enables us to love.
Implies take upon us His righteousness (see 1 John 5.3). Be clear that it isn’t
our purification that makes the Eternal love us; instead, it is the love of
Jesus for us that leads Him to wash us.
He loves us because, first of all, love is their nature (1John 4.8,16).
The fact that the verb to be in the present means that the love of
Christ is something present and that remains: He loved us, love us and will
love us until the end (Matthew 28.20). The issue with the love of Jesus
involves two aspects:
·
What He did for us on the Cross (Rom 5.8), which is the
greatest proof of love that He can give us;
·
What He is doing for us and that, many times, we don't care to see.
Although no demonstration of love is superior to what He did for us on the
cross, is His continuous presence loving through us that enables us to overcome
the world (1Jonh 5.3,4).
It’s wrong to work to win the true love. It is only to be received with
thanksgiving (see John 1.12). To be more accurate: as Jesus is love
(1 John 4.8.16), when we receive Him, automatically we are getting the
love.
The Eternal not designed that His creation strain itself to be
something. Instead, set in the heart of each what they should be (Ezekiel 28.13),
being enough that each one feed oneself
of what the Eternal gives (Deut 8.3; Matthew 4.4; Isaiah 48.17,18)
and follow His ministration. This will do each one to achieve naturally
everything for what was created. Unfortunately, many abort this
process.
And what is the reason for this? Think about it:
·
"For
since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1Cor 15:21,22).
·
"And
as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in
Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met
him." (Heb 7.9,10).
·
"And whether one member suffer, all the members
suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.” (1
Corinthians 12.26).
·
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor
serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me;" (Exodus 20.5)
·
"Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is
God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him
and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" (Deut 7:9).
There is the inheritance of blessing and curse. For example: whoever
believes in Christ becomes the heir of Abraham by faith (Romans 4.16-18). That
is to say, although only Abraham had sacrificed Isaac, through him all we offer
this sacrifice. In the same way, by means of Job we all had incomparable patience.
And, thus, Jesus wants to assign to each member of His body the conquest of
each one. Hence the motive for which we ought to feed ourselves from the body
of Christ (John 6.51-57).
After all, every gift or talent peculiar existing in the world reaches
its excellence in some of the members of Christ, and this for enjoyment of
their Sons.
That is to say, the favor of the Eternal does not take into account laws
(Romans 4.11-13; Galatians 5.22,23); is not firm on what each
one is, but in what the Eternal is. If we are in Jesus, all that the Eternal is
comes to us; otherwise, if we are disconnected from Jesus, the whole curse
comes to us naturally (see Romans 11.22-24).
To illustrate: If someone eats only bad thing, all members will be
affected, and may, for example, give thrombosis. It does not matter if the member
agrees with this or not, if it is connected to the body, it will receive what
the head to ingest. Therefore, if this member does not want to be the target of
this curse, it should leave this body (Rev 18.4).
If in fact we are in Christ, there is no excuse, because He has already
set us free. It’s enough that we loose ourselves of the
bonds that we made for ourselves (as it happened with Israel which, after
having been freed by Cyrus, insisted on being subject to slavery in Babylon - Zechariah 2.7).
Likewise, love is not something for which we strive to achieve or
maintain, but what we agree to allow to be developed in us when we accept
Jesus.
While priests and kings did not have the privilege of approaching
of the Creator at any time, His children have. As only Jesus is legitimate
son, therefore we can only approach of Him or of those who belong to the
Creator when He (with His lifestyle) leads us.
e)
In His blood washed us from our sins
Jesus did not die because He failed in His mission, but because He loved
us. This fight against the heresy that Jesus did not come in flesh
(1John 4.2,3).
This also shows us that we did not wash us of sins through good
works, but Jesus, through His life in us. Without Jesus (not us) washes us, we
do not have part with Him (John 13.8). Jesus, with His blood, restores our
relationship with the Father, saving us from walking wandering through this
world looking for a meaning to life.
And the fact that the sacrifice of Christ be consummated (John 19.30)
means that there is no turning back: everything is complete and all the result
of His work is in progress. There is no possibility of the same cannot be completed.
The only thing that prevents us from having the sins washed away is
the fact that we consider ourselves righteous (1John 1:9). While we believe
that we are right, we put the Eternal in the position of a liar, unfair and
debtor. Only by living His life is that our sins will be
forgiven. Confess the sin is not simply say that we committed an error, but
recognize that we act separately from the Eternal.
If, in fact, we had knowing in depth the love of the
Eternal (Eph 3.19), we would see how terrible
are our sins, as well as the grandeur of the good news (the gospel), namely,
that it is possible to appear before a so holy God.
Men always want to shed the blood of others for
supposedly being free from their sins, or put an end to all wars. But no blood,
except that of Christ, is able to deliver us from ourselves, because only
He has the power and character worthy to live in us what is to be lived and,
besides, supply us.
The love of Christ does not imply in wanting to
be loved by someone, but in wanting an opportunity for Jesus to love through
us. Note that Jesus first loved us for after washing us, instead of waiting we
washed ourselves to, then, love us.
So that no one has an excuse to say that it is
difficult to achieve the eternal. Not only is achieved by he who flees from him
(see Acts 17.25-28; Rom 1.18-20).
And the love of the Eternal is demonstrated
through the washing of regeneration and renewal (Titus 3.4-6), so as to
enable us to overcome the world (1John 5.3).
Jesus could destroy humanity and make human
beings ready to receive His love. However, we were created precisely
because we are creatures more appropriate (more sinners) for Him to show His
immense capacity for love, as well as the effectiveness of this gesture in whom
is reached for Him.
Love is active in the heart, but at rest in the
flesh. That is to say, the love consists in letting oneself be transformed by
the Eternal One through whom He brings to us and to be willing to allow the Eternal
work in the hearts of others through what He did of us.
It is not like the world that thinks that
love must be passive in the heart (love only those who please us and be willing
to receive love only of those who give what we want) and firm on actions
that consists in the effort to make the relationship work.
But after all, Jesus cleansed us, washed us or
set us free from sin? The washing of sins, in a deeper sense, means the release
of sin (see Rev 7.14; 12.11; Romans 3.25; Heb 9.14;
1 Peter 1.18.19; 1 John 1.7).
This recalls the fact that the priests had to
wash their hands and feet before entering the tabernacle of the congregation
and when they burned offerings in the altar of burned offering (Exodus 30.18-20),
which teaches us that nobody should get closer to anyone, nor offer
anything to the Eternal, without having been cleaned and moved by the
Word of Jesus.
Understand: the dirty heart prevents others from
approaching us. We have to go up to them, but we will not be received. The bonded
heart cannot go to anyone, not even to those who want to enter into our
lives.
This reveals the immense love of
Jesus who, instead of imputing our sins (2Cor 5.18-20), chose to give us His
life so that through Him, we were free of sinning against our neighbor. And
also teaches us that, unless we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, we
will never be free of the sin and, of course, capable of ministering in the
presence of the Eternal.
Let us consider some highlights with respect to
the blood of Christ:
·
The Eternal gave us Jesus so that our faith
could be conducted properly, or, if you prefer, so that we could have "in what"
have faith: "Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" (Romans 3.25);
·
Purification of the conscience from dead works: "How much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb 9.14);
·
Purifies us from sin of others, i.e., does not
allow the wickedness of them affect our way of thinking and feeling: "But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1John 1.7).
·
Rescues us from living a life useless: "Forasmuch as ye know that
ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" (1Peter 1.18,19).
Not to mention that it is through the blood of Christ
that the victory is given to us (Rev 7.14; 12.11).
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" (Rev 1.6).
f)
Made us kings and priests to His God and Father (see - Exodus 19.6; Isa 61.6;
1Peter 2.5,9; Rev 5.10; 20.6; cf. Ap 2.26;
3.21).
Jesus goes beyond forgive us. He made us kings
and priests. This went beyond what Adam was. Adam was just king. We, notwithstanding,
have the option of offering to the Eternal our lives so that people can be
transformed.
There are two ways to reign: with the endorsement
of the “prince of this world” (Ha-Satan - John 14.30) or by the
power of the King of kings. When we turn away from Jesus, we are forced to subdue
ourselves to the powers of this world and, with this, deleted all the
brightness that is in the sacrifice of Jesus.
Now, how can we subject to the powers of this
world, and being that they conspired against the Lord and against His anointed
(Ps 2.2; Acts 4.26)? These will be done in pieces (Ps 2.9),
whereas those who kiss the Son (fear Him - Prov 9.10) will give him their glory when He manifest
as KING of kings.
There is nothing to do to be kings and priests.
Jesus already did this for us. Being Jesus king and priest, when He uses
us, we just playing such a role.
Make this clear: we are not this of ourselves,
but through His action in us.
But, what does mean to be a priest of the
Eternal?
The priest was the one who
was constantly keeping the fire of the Eternal alight in the tabernacle:
·
The altar of burned offering -> a demonstration of the lake of fire
and brimstone, where the worm never dies and the fire is not quenched (Isa 66.24;
Mark 9.43-48) and the smoke from the torment of each ascend up forever (Rev 14.10,11).
As new meat was offered upon the altar of burned offering, so the worm of carnality
will never die, because there will always be new desires springing up in the
heart, without ever finding the minimum satisfaction (unlike what
is partly in this world);
·
Candlestick of gold -> the permanent light that shall be upon those who shall be
heirs of salvation should be seen from afar for all Israelites all times that they
looked toward the tabernacle;
·
Altar of Incense -> scent of the Word of the Eternal (2Cor 2.14-16) which should
sprout continuously and directly of those who have dedicated their lives to
have relationship with the Creator through prayer (Rev 5.8; 8.3).
A fundamental
characteristic of the king or priest is that both were involved in services:
·
The king was responsible for establishing the laws to
be followed, as well as ensure the fulfillment of the same in favor of love for
the neighbor.
·
The judge tried those who transgressed the law and
established the sentence.
·
The priest, on the other hand, was responsible for restoring
communion with the Eternal for those who fail to comply the law.
Whereas the law operates
the wrath (Romans 4.15), the office of king and priest alone would serve
only to fill of wrath mutual: of priest-king with relation to those who do not
comply the orders of the Eternal; of these in relation to priest-king when
rebuke them and, especially when, for some reason, he did acception
of individuals in the law.
On the other hand, anyone
who is deeper in the Holy Spirit, will be kingdom and priesthood. In this case,
not only such person will do the work, but his very presence will be a ministry
in the life of whoever approaches, since that he will be reason for the Holy
Spirit impelling him to good work (see 2Peter 1.5-8).
Once we are kingdom in the Eternal, this means that to enter the Kingdom
of the Eternal implies entering the hearts of those who belong to Him. Those who identify
themselves with Christ have been transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col
1.13), which is not of this world (John 18.36).
Jesus builds His kingdom within us (Luke 17.21) (we
are citizens of the heaven - Phil 3.20; Eph 2.19; Heb 12.23) and we reign in life through Him
(Romans 5:17; 2 Tim 2.12; Rev 2:26; 3:21; 5:10; 20:6).
Make us a kingdom of priests has always been the
will of the Eternal (Exodus 19.6) and was what He promised to Israel in
the millennium (Isaiah 61.6). It was always desire of the Eternal that we
had free access to His presence in order to be able to offer us in sacrifice
(Rom 12.1) to praise Him (Heb 13.15),
always available to receive His character in order that those who He placed in
our lives could be reconciled with Him (2Cor 5.18-20).
That is to say, the will of the Eternal is not
simply free us from slavery, but sanctify us and use us to control things
around us (as it was supposed to be originally - Genesis 1.28). Each member
of the Church is a priest. This makes the Church a kingdom of priests.
In addition to Jesus love us and rid us, He made
us able to reign over the sin and of use us so that those around us could have
access to the Eternal and what He has done for us and, thus, could be freed
from sin. We can now look into the Eternal and search what is needed for each
one reach liberation. Not only we have the benefit, as kings, to reign over
sin, but we have the possibility of forward this (the priesthood is the seed).
As priests, we offer sacrifices of praise (Heb 13.15). We have the privilege of continued access
to the favor of the Eternal for the neighbor, i.e., to what He has for those He
brings to us.
Understand: we must be kings over sin, in order
to be a living witness that Jesus died and rose again so that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in those who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8.1-4). However, if we are not
priesthood, we’ll be as the fruit without seeds or virgins without oil, namely:
without the ability to promote change in the lives of anyone.
As priests, we are instruments of the Eternal for
running the lives of those He brings to us. However, if we are not kings, be
like the fruit without pulp: We will propagate the nothing, i.e., even if we
preach the gospel to the whole world, nobody is really fueled by love of the Eternal
and transformed by Him.
The Church has not been loved and released in
exchange for nothing. The target of love is to make of us, not only kings and
priests for the Eternal, but kingdom and priesthood (1Peter
2.5.9; Rev 5.10; 20.6; Rev 2.26; 3.21) (as was to be with
Israel - Exodus 19.6; Isaiah 61.6). That is to say, the
Eternal wants to fill the several rooms of our hearts with those He puts in our
lives to, in our spirit, lead them to the place where He wants to be able to,
through them, to ministry them the sacred services in us.
To say that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18.36),
what Jesus was saying is that He does not reign through enforcement of the law
(all Holy Scripture that people call of Old Testament proves that this doesn't
work), but inside the hearts day and night (see Rev 5.10; 7.15), by
virtue of all that He is, by the ties of love overcoming hearts through
conviction and attraction (Hosea 11.4).
We are kings and priests to help direct and to
minister in the hearts of those that the Eternal gives us and, at the same
time, our heart is the place where each one can reach the priesthood and try
Jesus reigning over their lifetime.
Understand: unlike the world, where someone isn’t
considered something until graduating in college, in the realm of the
Eternal the individual is not something (only the Eternal is - Exodus 3.14);
rather, he is being formed every day (Phil 2.12,13). That is to say,
nobody is king and priest ready; instead, it is done priest and walk reigning over sin
(Romans 5.17) over the days.
Notwithstanding, that this be clear: all this is
for God and Father, and not for personal gain. After all, the
honor, glory and power belong only to Him (1Tim 6:16; Heb 13.21;
1 Peter 4.11; 5.11).
It is clear that this will reach its climax
after the Millennium, when in the New Jerusalem there will be no time, since
there will be no more the distinction between holy and profane. The all Church
is a temple (Rev 21.22). Even because, hear the word of the Eternal
is a blessing. Keep it is a privilege.
Jesus receives doxology (which is a
short poem that gives glory to the Father) by His redemptive work on behalf of
the Father.
The doxologies occupy an important
place in revelation, and more and more. See:
1 - In chapter one, the Eternal is exalted
in two modes:
· " And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
" (Rev 1.6)
2 - In chapter
four, the Eternal is exalted in three modes:
·
"And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth
for ever and ever,” (Rev 4.9).
· " hou 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. " (Rev 4.11).
In Chapter Five The Eternal is
exalted in four modes:
· " 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." (Rev 5.13).
·
"To the only wise God our Saviour, be
glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 25).
In Chapter set, the Eternal is
exalted in seven modes, while in Chronicles, only five modes:
·
"Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom,
and thanksgiving, and honour, and power,
and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."
(Rev 7.12).
·
"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and
the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that
is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and
thou art exalted as head above all." (1Chronicles 29.11).
Note on Daniel 7.14 the
connection between kingdom, glory and dominion (quoted by Jesus
in Matthew 24.30).
The fact of giving glory
and dominion to Jesus does not mean that we have something of this to
offer Him. Rather, it means that we recognize that He is the source of all
this. That is, instead of going in search of some of these things when we
need, we must wait and trust that He is all this in our lives.
When we leave our interests
aside and started to glorify Jesus, we receive much more than we need. And
this must be for ever and ever (Rev 1.6), i.e., it is not just for a
moment, but always, even in those moments that seem insignificant to our eyes.
This is what we must seek of
the Eternal:
·
"But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in
much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, by honour and dishonour, by evil
report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and
yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and
not killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing
all things." (2Cor 6.4,8,9).
· "For ye see your
calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things
of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not, to bring to nought things that
are: that no flesh should glory in his presence." (1Corinthians 1.26-29).
We must seek of the Eternal strength in weakness, kindness in the
midst of wickedness, etc.; lastly, we must transforming small moments into
something great and striking, as if a moment meant an eternity, something that
confirm the faith in the hearts of others.
There is no greater glory, honor, etc. that we can receive, but Jesus Himself.
With regard to the
expression "Forever", it is well used in Revelation
(Rev 1.6; 4.9,10; 5.13,14; 7.12; 10.6; 11.15; 14.11; 15.7; 19.3; 20.10;
22.5).
The distinction between God
and Father due to the fact that, although we should have intimacy with the Eternal,
to the point of having freedom in His presence (2Cor 3.17), nor for this we
must lose the elegance, the respect and reverence before Him.
Amen = it so be. And John
quotes in the next verse because he want to see it completed fast.
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." (Rev 1.7).
Clouds are usually
associated with the presence and glory of the Eternal (see Exodus
13:21-22; 16:10; 19:9; 24:15-18). The multitude of them that
believed in Jesus is also considered cloud (Hebrews 12.1), since man is the
glory of the Eternal (1Corinthians 11.7).
John did not need a special
vision to know that Jesus will come in the clouds. This had already been
predicted (Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 26.64).
Clouds, for the righteous,
is synonymous of deliverance, of blessings; for the wicked, of reprimand. For example:
·
The waters of the flood: for Noah and his family meant deliverance, and
the rainbow in the clouds a sign of this (Gen 9.13,14,16); for the other,
death (1Peter 3.20);
·
Clouds served of fear for those who don't want to have commitment to
Jesus (Exodus 20.18-20; Heb 12.18-21);
·
The Eternal "rides" with His majesty on the clouds, something
that is good news for those who hope in Him (Deut 33.26).
It is as if the clouds were the throne of the Eternal;
·
The Eternal, to give salvation to Israel by means of Deborah
and Barak, made the clouds pour down water (Judges 5.4);
·
The Eternal bless the harvest of those that feed the hearts of those who
belong to Jesus. For this, He will open the windows of heaven (Malachi
3.10,11), i.e., send rain (see Gen 7.11).
Jesus, coming in the clouds
(Dan 7.13; Matt 24.30; 14.62; Mark 13.26; 14.62; Luke 21.27;
At 1.9,11; 1Thess 4:17) symbolize judgment for the wicked and salvation to
those who hopes in Him. It is worth remembering that:
·
The role of judge is of the Eternal as Father;
·
The role of saving is of the Eternal in the person of Jesus Christ
(compare John 5.22 to 8.15);
·
The role of convincing someone is of the Eternal acting in the spirit of
each one, sanctifying them.
The clouds are a
symbol of the stately and glorious presence of the Eternal (Exodus
13:21-22; 16:10; 19:9; 24.15-18). Notice how Jesus is represented as appearing
in this way (Exodus 19.18; Ps 18.11; Isaiah 19.11).
The clouds, figuratively
speaking, also represent the multitudes of witnesses of the Eternal that
are all around us (Heb 12.1).
Note that it isn’t
said that Jesus "will come" with clouds, but that He
"comes" with the clouds (present tense, as well as in Acts 1:11:
" shall so come" instead
of "will come"). In other words, since Jesus was taken up to heaven
until His return, in the eyes of the Eternal, is the same day, namely, the
sixth day (although for us passed over 1.900 years). Nevertheless, our
denomination of time has to do with the spin of the earth, while the
Eternal sees time in terms of changes happening.
Think about it: if there
was no sun, moon and stars, what would be our reference to determine that there
was a change of time?
Also notice that it is not
said "Jesus comes again". This is because, when Jesus came
for the first time, he did not come in all His glory and majesty.
John did not need a special
revelation to know that:
·
Jesus would come with the clouds (he could read
this in Dan 7.13-14 or remember what Jesus said in Matt 24.64).
·
Every eye will see Jesus coming (just remember
what Jesus said - Matt 24.26,27).
·
Even those who pierced Jesus would see Him (just
read Zechariah 12.10). Here we can see that who would see Jesus
pierced was the Jewish people;
·
All the tribes of the earth will mourn when
they see Jesus coming (just read Zechariah 12.14 or remember
what Jesus said in Matthew 24.30).
There is an urgent need to
stress here that the people will see Jesus coming twice in the clouds.
Comes the question: how is
it possible that Jesus comes in the clouds twice?
The first time, three and a
half days after first half of the 70th week. Jesus comes from heaven
and goes to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14.4). On this occasion all
those who died in Jesus Christ will be resurrected and those who are alive in
Christ will be transformed (1Thes 4.16,17).
The second time, at the end
of the Great Tribulation, Jesus will descend in the Valley
of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:12).
But, how is it that every
eye will see Jesus, since the earth is round? When Jesus comes (three and a
half days after half of the 70th week), the earth will be flat:
· "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." (Rev 6.14)
You see, when you look
outside, you see the sun revolving around the earth in a counter-clockwise
direction. However, the truth is that it is the earth that rotates around its
axis in a clockwise direction. Likewise, when the round earth unfold to
one side and the other from the south pole, the impression that everyone will
have is that the heaven is that is being wrapped by the ends as you do with a
parchment. The earth will be flat. There will be no more hills and
valleys (with the exception of Mount Zion - Isaiah 2.2,3; Micah 4.1,2).
The fact that every eye
see, implies that the coming of Jesus will be personal and visible when it
comes to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
As it is more blessed he
who believed without ever having seen (John 20.29), so those who did not
believe until they see Jesus coming in the clouds will suffer horribly
(Rev 6.16,17).
This is why, when Jesus
comes, all the families of the earth will mourn
(Zechariah 12.10-14; Matt 24.30):
·
The righteous, by realizing how unworthy they
are of receiving the love of Jesus. Not only this: they will also regret to see
millions being lost, including their relatives;
·
The wicked, by remorse for having despised so
much love and, for this reason, they are condemned to eternal suffering.
How is that those who pierced
Jesus will see Him? When Jesus comes to introduce the Millennium, the people of
Israel that pierced Him will see Him. After the Millennium and the final defeat
of Ha-Satan, all the ungodly of all time will be resurrected and will see
Jesus, including the soldiers who crucified Him and pierced Him.
The fact of Jesus have been
pierced (John 19.34-37) had for purpose to prove that He really was human,
and not just spirit as many thought (1John 4.3). And the fact of coming out
blood and water reminded the two methods
of symbolic purification of the testament of the law.
The two words used to
finish Rev 1.7 ("yes" and "amen"), represent in
the original, Jesus confirming His own word in Greek ("Yes") and in
Hebrew ("Amen"), indicating that, although the Revelation is an
offshoot of the prophecies of Daniel to the Israelites, His promises are also
applicable to non-Israelites.
The "yes" and
"amen" are to confirm that Jesus comes and we all will regret, some
by remorse, others by repentance. This is why Jesus wipe away every tear from
elected. This also serves to remind us that Jesus is the
"yes" and the "Amen" to the promises of the Eternal (2Cor
1:20).
Everything that was quoted
in the book of Revelation should happen so soon, starting with that generation
to whom John was witnessing and repeating itself in the life of every one that
believeth in Jesus. At the time of Daniel the vision was said to be
referring to the last days (Dan 2.28). So, our dispensation is the time of
the end and everything will happen so quickly (Rev 1.7; 4.1; 22.20).
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."
(Rev 1:8).
Only Daniel (Dan 7:28; 9:2; 10:2) and John make use of the expression "I,
John," "I Daniel".
Comes the question: who
gave this sentence: The Father or Jesus Christ? Surely is the
Father. And the fact that the Father use attributes that Jesus also
advocates for Himself proves that Jesus is God:
· Alpha and Omega (see Col
2.3) -> essence of all knowledge. All science begins and ends in
the Eternal. Jesus is the beginning and end of the revelation.
·
This also points to the beginning of the Holy Scriputre,
when man and woman are in perfect communion with the Creator, when both were in
innocence (naturally). But, for more wonderful as it may seem, at the end of Sacred
Scripture, we have the man and woman in perfect communion with the Eternal
after winning the knowledge of good and evil originally ingested. That is to
say, it is a deeper communion, mature, spiritual.
That is though they knew
good and evil, also known best Jesus and realize how better He was.
It was no longer a ignorant choice (forced), but a
conscious choice, a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.
After the final judgment, when everything is done again (Ap 21.1),
finally all evil will disappear from the soul.
·
First and Last (compare Rev 1.17; 21.6; 22.13; with Isaiah 41.4;
44.6; 48.12) -> The Eternal is the main and the less important of all. That
is to say, in all the things and individuals, from the greatest until the most
insignificant, the Eternal is acting on everything and everyone (see Eph 4.6). That is, He alone is something (Exodus 3:14).
·
The one who is, who was and who is to come -> understanding who is to
come is Jesus, therefore the Eternal is saying that He is Jesus incarnated.
·
The Almighty -> This title, out of Revelation (which appears
nine times: Rev 1.8; 4.8; 11.17; 15.3; 16.7,14; 19.6,15; 21.22) only appears once in
the Testament of the Favor of the Eternal (1Corinthians 6.18) and is a
reference to the Testament of the Law with respect to the Eternal (quoted
45 times).
These
titles mean that everything that the Eternal starts He ends. No
matter how things started, much less what direction they are taking, nothing
happens without the permission of the Eternal and, in the end, He will be
glorified. Everything will happen as He planned (Job 42.2).
Even more: here is combated
the heresy of thinking that Jesus is someone separated from the Father. After
all, since the Eternal is the Almighty (the One that has all power), if
Jesus is not one with the Eternal, then we have a counterintuitive: how
can anyone be all powerful (see Ezekiel 1:24; 10.5, Psalm 91:1;
Rev 16.14; 19:15; 21:22) if there is someone else with power?
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 the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev 1.9).
Companion really means "collaborator”.
That is to say, John puts himself on the same level as the other brothers who
were being afflicted, passing large labors together with all of them.
The Kingdom of the Eternal
comes with two words: tribulation and patience. Being the Eternal the Almighty,
we must have patience in the midst of tribulation so that we can achieve, in
our lives, the reign of the Eternal.
Understand: tribulation is
the mean by which we will enter into the kingdom of the Eternal and the
patience, the mean of we walk this way:
·
"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and
exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14.22).
And when the Holy Scripture
speaks in patience, that be clear: this is not a passive patience (accept the
evils silent), but a enable patience (endure to see the will of the Eternal
fully fulfilled - see Rev 3.10; 13.10; 14.11-12).
When we are tested, the
objective is to prove to everyone, including us and the principalities and
powers that Jesus, His work and Word function. The sufficiency of Jesus' life
will be proved through us. We must stay in the situations that are brought to
us, serving as a support to those that are of the Eternal (Eph 4.2),
humiliating ourselves under the mighty hand of Him (James 4.6; 1Peter
5.5-7), even when the situation is unpleasant. Perseverance is essential to
achieve glory, honor and immortality (Romans 2.7) and, with
this, we win our soul.
The trilogy tribulation,
kingdom and patience is also highlighted in (2Thes 1.3-5), being something that
we ought to share (Col 1.24; Phil 3.8-10). After all, if the only son of
the Eternal is Jesus, so it is only His Son who grieve oneself as He by the
Church with patience (i.e., with perseverance, without giving up). Just so
someone can say that is under the government of Christ. Without this, all
are condemned, since, in one form or another, will occupy the place of the
Eternal as judges.
Suffering is not something
that we give to the Eternal for His glory, but a privilege which He grants to
those who love Him (Acts 5.40,41; Col 1.24; Phil 1.29; 3.8-10; 1
Peter 4.12-14) of experiencing within themselves the testimony of the Eternal
(Rev 1.2).
John puts himself above the
lay person, but at the same time not used any extraordinary title to make
himself impress by others. John left the example showing himself brother
and companion in difficult times (brother is the greatest title that a follower
of Jesus can give to others). Even because our calling in Christ has to
do with afflictions (Acts 14.22; Phil 1.7,29; 4.14; Col 1.24;
2Tim 1.8; 2.12; Rm 8.17; 1 Peter 2.18-24, 4.12-19).
Nevertheless, John was
not a companion carnal, but in Jesus. That is to say, he
patiently strengthened the faith of our brothers inside of each one
of them while they were to suffer for love to Jesus and His kingdom.
Because of the Word of the
Eternal and the testimony of Jesus Christ are linked closely (hence
not be "because of the word of the Eternal and because of the testimony of
Jesus Christ"). In that Jesus bore witness by living the Word of the
Eternal, in addition to make the disobedient objectionable
before Him, Jesus showed to His sons the privilege of
loving, namely, that what we really were made for.
John was found on an island
that is called Patmos (probably he was taken to there
unconscious). There he experienced the physical world closing itself and he
being completely immersed in the spiritual world, as it would be on the Lord's
day (when Jesus comes to inaugurate the millennium). Note the emphasis of
words caught in the spirit (Rev 4.1-2; 17.3; 21.10), different from what
happened with Peter (Acts 10.10) that simply had a vision in the place where he
was.
Verse 10
·
"I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet"
(Rev 1.10).
John was transported to the
place of vision as Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 37.1). After all, the infinite
cannot be recognized by the mind. You need to experience it internally.
There are four references
in Revelation saying that John was in spirit: in Patmos (Rev 1.10),
in heaven (Rev 4.2), in the desert (Rev 17.3) and finally in a great and
high mountain (Rev 21.10).
The expression "great
voice" occurs, in the Revelation, the following times:
1.
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard
behind me a GREAT VOICE, as of a trumpet" (Revelation 1.10);
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?"
(Revelation 5.2);
3.
"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." (Revelation 5.12);
4.
"And they cried with a LOUD VOICE, saying, How
long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them
that dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6.10);
5.
"And I saw another angel ascending from the
east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a LOUD VOICE to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,"
(Revelation 7.2);
6.
"And cried with a LOUD VOICE, saying, Salvation
to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." (Revelation
7.10);
7.
"And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through
the midst of heaven, saying with a LOUD VOICE, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters
of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!" (Revelation 8.13);
8.
"And cried with a LOUD VOICE, as when a lion
roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices."
(Revelation 10.3);
9.
"And they heard a GREAT VOICE from heaven saying
unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their
enemies beheld them.." (Revelation 11.12);
10. "And I
heard a LOUD VOICE saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night."
(Revelation 12.10);
11. "And I
heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice
of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their
harps:" (Revelation 14.2);
12. "Saying
with a LOUD VOICE, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his
judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14.7);
13. "And
the third angel followed them, saying with a LOUD VOICE, If any man worship the
beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,"
(Revelation 14.9);
14. "And
another angel came out of the temple, crying with a LOUD VOICE to him that sat
on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to
reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." (Revelation 14.15);
15. "And
another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with
a LOUD CRY to him that
had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the
clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe."
(Revelation 14.18);
16. " And I
heard a GREAT VOICE out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways,
and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." (Revelation
16.1);
17. "And
the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a GREAT
VOICE out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done."
(Revelation 16.17);
18. " And
he cried mightily with a STRONG VOICE, saying, Babylon the great is fallen,
is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." (Revelation 18.2).
19. "And
after these things I heard a GREAT VOICE of much people in heaven, saying,
Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:"
(Revelation 19.1);
20. "And I
heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth." (Revelation 19.6);
21. "And I
saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a LOUD VOICE, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together
unto the supper of the great God;" (Revelation 19:17);
22. "And I
heard a GREAT VOICE out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God." (Revelation 21.3).
This loud voice can be
compared to the sound of a trumpet, a clap of thunder and the roar of many
waters. The voice of the trumpet remembers when the Eternal was manifested to
Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19.17-19), which contains a great
message of warning (see, for example, 1 Thessalonians 4.16).
John heard a voice as of a
trumpet, which was used as a warning to the people stop everything they were
doing to gather where they have heard the tap of the horn (see Num 10.1-10) (whether to celebrate a feast unto the
Eternal, whether to take any important decision or to warn that the war was in
the gates).
Here we learn that Revelation
must be seen as a stop, a full output of the Babylonian System that governs
this world to receive, understand and practice the message that was being sent.
After all, every day, in the life of the believer must be day of the
Eternal. Nobody needs more to do as the Athenians who stood by to say or hear the
news (Acts 17.21), because past, present and future are contained in Revelation.
As to the magnitude of the
voice, not treat itself of intimidating, but something intrinsic to the voice
and the message preached. To be more accurate: it’s not a being striving himself
to scream, but talking naturally. His voice was so. The voice was great, not necessarily
because its intensity was high, but because it had authority and
power.
Although the Roman Empire
could prevent John of beingg, physically, in
communion with the Church which met in seven provinces of Asia, it could not
prevent the contact of John with the heaven. Moreover, the exile and loneliness
contributed to John better to see the spiritual world, and thus improve the
communion between the members of the Church.
John heard the voice behind
him (as has been suggested in Isaiah 30.21). The purpose of this was to
show that the Eternal leads His people with humility, and not with the carnal mightness. Jesus goes with the last (Isaiah 41.4) so
that the first never consider themselves superior (Zechariah 12.7; 1Corinthians
12.24-26), but always worry about the rest.
As for the "Lord's
Day", let's look at what the Sacred Scripture says:
1.
"For the day of the LORD of hosts
shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is
lifted up; and he shall be brought low " (Isaiah 2:12);
2.
"Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand;
it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." (Isaiah 13.6);
3.
"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,
cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall
destroy the sinners thereof out of it." (Isaiah 13.9);
4.
"For this is the day of the Lord GOD of
hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the
sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood:
for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river
Euphrates." (Jeremiah 46.10);
5.
"Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made
up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD." (Ezekiel 13.5);
6.
"For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the
heathen." (Ezekiel 30.3);
7.
" Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty
shall it come." (Joel 1:15);
8.
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm
in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;" (Joel 2.1);
9.
"And the LORD shall utter his voice before his
army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth
his word: for the day of the LORD is great and
very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:11);
10.
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come."
(Joel 2.31);
11.
"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision: for the day of the LORD is near in
the valley of decision." (Joel 3:14);
12.
"Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light." (Amos 5:18);
13.
"Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness,
and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?" (Amos 5.20);
14.
"For the day of the LORD is near upon
all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward
shall return upon thine own head." (Obadiah 1:15);
15.
"Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD:
for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice,
he hath bid his guests." (Zephaniah 1.7);
16.
"The great day of the LORD is near, it
is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly."
(Zephaniah 1:14);
17.
"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and
thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee." (Zechariah 14:1);
18.
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:"
(Malachi 4.5);
Note how the term "Lord's day" is always related to judgment
and destruction. And when Peter preached to the multitude of almost three
thousand individuals, he makes the connection between the "Lord's
Day" and the "day of the Lord Jesus":
·
"The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great
and notable day of the Lord come:" (Acts
2.20);
And it is not for less,
since the day of the Lord Jesus will result in suffering and destruction of the
wicked (hence the use of the term "thief in the night"):
·
“To
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." (1 Corinthians 5.5);
·
"As
also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye
also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus." (II Corinthians 1:14);
·
"For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." (1Thessalonians
5.2);
·
"But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up." (2Peter 3.10);
Therefore, there was
nothing else to discuss: John was transported to the seventieth week of Daniel
and experienced, in his flesh, what we pass during these last seven years from
this age.
There is no passage of Holy
Scripture that associates the day of the Lord with the sunday
and only an excerpt associates with the sabbath:
·
"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call
the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD,
honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine
own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:" (Isaiah 58.13);
And the only reason
for this association is the fact that after six days of hard work resulting
from the Adamic curse (Genesis 3.19), finally comes
the day that the man should rest of their evil works and live of the Eternal’s
supernatural provision.
Likewise, the Lord's day is
the day that Jesus will come to clean the world of the works of men and bring
the thousand years of rest for the people of the Eternal. However, this
process of clean will bring great distress to the people of Israel (Jeremiah
30.5-7; Daniel 12.1, Matthew 24:21).
That the day of the Lord
cannot be saturday or sunday, just
think that, in Holy Scripture, one day isn’t more valorized than the
other (Romans 14.5-8; Col 2.16).
And considering that the Day
of the Lord is the day in which He comes to reign in this world, so all who
believe in Jesus must yet live the Day of the Lord, which brings punishment to
all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10.3-6).
In other words, the day of
the Lord is not something punctual (a mere 24-hour day), but, as for the Lord
one day is as a thousand years (2Peter 3.8), so this day, in the lives of
believers, is greater than the passage of them through this world. In
other words, the Revelation represents the entire life of the believer in
Jesus, but also represents what will be happening over the last seven years that
will forego the coming of the
millennium.
In other words, we must tackle
two lines of reasoning in Revelation:
·
The steps to be experienced by followers of
Jesus;
·
All the events that will compose the 70th week.
Unlike the prophets who,
although they hear the voice of the Eternal, yet remained connected with
this reality, John is found in spirit, being completely oblivious to everything
that was happening, living that reality that was being shown.
It is clear: John was
caught up in the day of the Lord. In other words, John was inside this day,
living this day and was caught up in the spirit in this reality. That is
to say, this is the life of those who believe in Jesus. Hence be blessed
he who believes in Revelation (Rev 1.3; 22.7) and cursed any who
makes any change to it (Rev 22.18,19).
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."
(Rev 1:11).
Jesus, in addition to
knowing the end from the beginning, there is nothing before Him and nor will
there be after him (after all, after the Final Judgment, only remains inwhat the Eternal is all in all - 1Corinthians 15:28).
John here makes it clear
that he wrote the book on divine order and not what it pleased to him (see
Revelation 10:4). It was so important the permanence of this word that, for
more than eleven times, is ordered to John to write everything (Revelation
1.19; 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14; 14:13; 19:9; 21:5).
This proves
that the book of Revelation is for the whole Church at all times
(see Habakkuk 2.2,3). And, in spite of so much emphasis on the part
of Jesus, yet many (including those who say believe in Jesus) ignore this
book.
Interestingly, Paul also
wrote to seven Oholyao: Rome, Corinth, Galatia,
Ephesus, Colossus, Philippi and Thessalonica.
And that Revelation is not
only for the seven oholyao of Asia, just think
that Jesus says: "
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches" (Rev 2.7,11,17,29; 3.6,13,22).
Pay attention to what
the LOUD voice said. The message should be preached with fidelity (hence
Rev 22.18,19) and in perpetuity.This is the
reason why the Revelation needed to be written (Isaiah 30.8).
Probably the order given to
John to write, was not only a commitment to write, but also an incentive and
training for writing. After all, it is good to remember that John was
illiterate (Acts 4.13).
Verse 12
·
"And I turned
to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden
candlesticks;" (Rev 1.12).
How can an individual see
the voice of another?
The unity expressed by the
candlestick of gold in the Testament of the Law was a merely external
(and that kept all non-Jews from outside), consisting of one people
and one place of worship.
The Testament of the Favor
of the Eternal, on the other hand, consists of worship anywhere, at any
time by any person (and this with full intensity, as if the seven
candlesticks were gathered in the same place). The number seven for the Church
(see Rev 1.20) indicates that, today, each group of brothers in communion
constitutes a candlestick, so that the Church is not and never will be
centered, but it is everywhere, where there are two or three gathered together
in the name of Jesus (Matt 18.20). However, together, all
constitute the Church of Christ which, spiritually, maintains the
perfect unity (Ephesians 4.3-6).
Detail: in the holy place
the light of day not penetrated. Soon, it was lit only by the light of the
candlestick of gold (Exodus 25.37; see Zechariah 4.2). This
teaches us that the Church must never be illumined by the wisdom of this world
(1Corinthians 2.4.5), but only by what the Eternal lets It know
(see Genesis 3:11; Isaiah 48.17,18).
It is important to make clear
that the candlestick, of itself does not emit light. He just holds in its
interior oil and fire which, together, will produce the light.
Likewise, the Church itself
is not light and truth. She only allows Jesus manifested the light (John 8.12;
9.5) of His truth (John 14.6) within themselves, and then rises up so that
everyone can see that grace, light and life (Matthew 5.14-16).
The be made of gold indicates
how precious, sacred, celestial and divine is the Church when allows Christ
(John 8.12) be its light (Matt 5.14-16; Phil 2.14,15), i.e., the
One that makes It see the world and everything that happens, as well as the One
that uses It to establish His truth and presence around the world (1Timothy
3.15).
Verses 13 to 16
·
"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. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as
white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet
like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters. 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. (Rev 1.13-16).
First of all, compare the
similarities between the description of Daniel and John:
|
Characteristics |
Daniel 10:5-6 |
Revelation 1:13-15 |
|
Appearance |
A certain man |
Like the Son of Man |
|
Clothes |
Clothed in linen |
Clothed with a garment |
|
Belt |
Girded
waist with gold of Uphaz |
Girded about the breasts with a belt of gold |
|
Face |
Face as
appearance of light |
Hair and head was white like wool and snow |
|
Eyes |
Eyes as
lamps of fire |
Eyes like flames of fire |
|
Arms and legs |
Similar
to polished brass |
Feet like fine brass, as if they had been refined in a furnace |
|
Voice |
Voice
of His words was like the voice of a multitude. |
His voice as the sound of many waters. |
It was work of the high
priest keep the candlestick lit in the tabernacle continuously.
Note how John starts seeing
the clothes and the belt of gold, then the hair. When he sees the eyes of
Jesus, the penetrating gaze of Jesus did him low his head and he began to see
the feet and, after receiving inner strength, begins to raise its head. It is
when he sees the stars, mouth and face. However, the face, this time, should
have increased his glory, what did John to faint.
Detail: the voice of Jesus
is not so unbearable as the glory of His face.
The fact of Jesus being in
the middle of the 7 golden candlesticks (Rev 2.1) points to His
continued presence in ceaseless activity in the middle of the Church here
on earth. This teaches us that the place where He can be found is in
the center of the communion of the Church.
Together with the rainbow
around the throne (Rev 4.3), this proves that Jesus is not oblivious
to what is happening in this world.
And when John sees Him that
would marry the people elected as His bride, he did not see Jesus with the hair
full of blood, puffy eyes, feet nailed to the cross, voice hoarse by the thristy tongue, which is preached to the roof of the mouth.
Much less see hands perforated, disfigured face, naked. Instead he sees Jesus
in a manner similar to that saw Daniel (Daniel 10.6):
1
- like the Son of
Man (Rev 1.13; 14.14; see Ezeka 1.26; Dan 7.13;
10.16).
Although Jesus has a
glorified body, it will be possible to see the traces of His humanity (disputed
by many - 1John 4.2,3), as He was seen by His disciples (Luke 24.15; John 20.27). In
contrast to the agony of Jesus in Gethsemane and His shame and
suffering on Golgotha, now John sees Jesus in His glory.
This leads us to conclude
that His glory is not simply to be God or have inherited this as Son of
the Eternal, but rather the result of everything that He lived and suffered as
the Son of man. In other words, all attributes below have to do with His
victory over sin, death and Ha-Satan.
Since both That who
sanctifies and they who are sanctified come from One (Heb 2.11,12),
is not a dishonor to be seen as a "simple" man (instead of being seen
in His divine form), because, although the Eternal is supreme, yet he
never designed this insulation that is preached in pagan religions.
The title son of man was
given mainly to Ezekiel and once to Daniel (Dan 8.17). He is opposed to
the expression "Son of God" and means one who has in himself the
whole human nature. To use this to Ezekiel and Daniel, the Eternal was showing
that these two men were not consecrated by the Eternal One because they are a
class of special human beings. This means that any human being can be used as
they were.
In the case of Jesus, that
is to prove that He Was 100% man (Romans 8.3,4; Hebrews 4.13-15) and that, on
what He lived without sin, He became able to judge or forgive sins (John 5.27;
Luke 5.20,24).
Detail: in the offer of the
wise men who came from the East, the gold recognized Jesus as God, the incense
reminds Him as the perfect high priest and the myrrh affirms Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of soft smell to the Eternal.
2
- dressed in a garment down to the foot (Rev 1.13)
In the Testament of
the Law, sacred vestments were made to Aaron (Lev 16.4,23,24) for
glory and beauty (Exodus 28.2), to consecrate him (Exodus 28.3),
giving him a position of importance and authority (king and priest).
Jesus also is clothed with
beauty and glory (Isaiah 4.2). Today, the justice of the Eternal is
that should dress us (Eph 6.14), i.e.,
differentiate us from others living in this world.
We need to be stripped of
powers and glory of this world (see Psalms 20.7; Isa 30.1-3;
31.1-3) to be clothed with the righteousness and glory of the Eternal (see John 5.44).
In place of the luxurious array, we must use the sackcloth of weeping and
lamentation for the lives that have been lost (see Amos 6.1,3-6; 2Cor
11.28.29; Col 1.24), including our (Luke 17.3; 21.34; 2John 8, James 4.8,9).
We should be using the incorruptible costume of a meek and quiet spirit (1Peter
3.3.4).
Later the seven angels with
the seven last plagues use such garments (in Ap 15.6). Therefore,
this garment would be like the gown of a judge.
3
– girt about the paps with a golden girdle (Rev 1.13).
While only a part of the
belt of Aaron was of gold (Exodus 28.8), the one of Jesus is all made
of gold. The belt is designed to keep the robe of righteousness more
attached to the body. What does this is the truth (Eph 6.14).
The fact of being girded by breasts allows majestic and calm movements.
Even though the other want
to enslave us, we must not resist evil, not even deny him what he believes to
be of him (Matt 5.39-44). Let the truth (John 14.6) speak louder (Ps 37.5,6).
4
- the head and
the hair were white as white wool, like snow (Rev 1.14; see Dan 7.9).
Whereas white hair was
synonymous of great age and wisdom, so such hair (which were not gray, but
fully white) reveal the eternity (His and of His kingdom), as
well as the perfection and purity of His wisdom. These hairs bind Jesus to
the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7.9.
While in this world the
white hairs are a symbol of weakness and ugliness, in heaven is a symbol of
purity and glory:
·
First, because it is when we are weak that
we are strong (2Cor 12.9,10);
·
Second, because our head must fall in the
eyes of the world to be able to assimilate the true wisdom (1Corinthians
3.18-20; 2.1-5).
·
Third, because instead of sophisticated hair
hairstyles or do it shine by olive oil, the head should be adorned with
the helmet of salvation (Isaiah 59.17; Eph 6.17).
·
Fourth, because when the Eternal mentions wool
and snow, he does so with respect to cleansing from sin (see Isaiah 1:18; Psalm
51.7).
Also note that wool
and snow represent contrasts. After all, the wool is used to preserve body heat
against the coldness of the snow. Thus, the head Jesus remains
cold, but at the same time, heated by his love.
Likewise, we cannot be
indifferent to the sin that so easily beset us (Heb 12.1), nor put
the sun on our anger (see Eph 4.26). We
have to face everything with serenity, but willing to do something about it,
always taking pleasure in the salvation of Jesus (Psalms 9.14; 13.5; 20.5;
21.1; 40.16; 51.12; 70.4).
5
- the eyes were as a
flame of fire (Rev 1.14; 2.18; 19.12; see Dan 10.6).
The Eyes of Jesus have, at
the same time, heat and light. His love, like flames of fire, is able to
constrain any sinner (2 Corinthians 5.14), making sprout in his heart a genuine
repentance for sin. The Eyes of Jesus penetrate so deep that make the hearts of
those who denies Him to weep bitterly (Luke 22.61.62; see 2Cor 5:14).
On the other hand, with
regard to unrepentant sinners, the eyes of Jesus are an expression of His
anger and revenge, such as Jesus comes in flames of fire in order to take
revenge against those who do not know the Eternal and obey not the gospel of
the Lord Jesus (2Thes 2:1.7,8; Rev 19.11,12).
In any manner the eyes of
Jesus express two different things (see James 3.10-12). Jesus is just love (1John
4.8.16). However, this scent of love can be realized in two different ways
(depending on what is in the heart of the sinner - 2 Corinthians 2.14-16; Titus
1:15). You must become blind to the things of this world for having to see the
true reality (John 9.39-41).
Notwithstanding, His eyes,
besides not be defiled with sin, are capable of burning the sin in the lives of
those who allow.
The eyes in flames of fire
also depict that the darkness cannot hide anything from Jesus (Ps 139.12). Jesus
knows well what there is inside the man (John 2.25), being thus able to discern
the thoughts and intents of the heart (Rev 4.12).
After all:
·
"Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." (Hebrews 4:13).
Jesus is the righteous
judge because, as Isaiah said:
·
"And
shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not
judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his
ears:" (Isaiah 11.3).
6
- the feet were
similar to polished brass as if it were melted in the furnace (Rev 1.15; Rev 2.18).
As the fire is associated
with judgment (see Matt 3.10-12; 5.22; 13.30; 2Peter 3.7), therefore
here shows Jesus coming out of the refiner's fire
(see Zechariah 13.9; Malachi 3.1-3), namely, the proof of His faith
(1Peter 1.6,7).
The
bronze (brass) was associated with trial and sacrifice. Just remember
the bronze altar, where the sacrifice for sins was done. And being the bronze
the metal alloy rougher known in ancient times, therefore it shows that the
steps of Jesus are firm and stable.
The feet had to be of melted
bronze in the furnace so He could step on any terrain that the Eternal wanted
without suffering the effects of three main elements that hurt:
·
Dust
(Luke 8.12);
·
Stones (Luke
8.13);
·
Thorns
(Luke 8.14);
·
serpents and scorpions (Luke 10.19).
The fact of the foot be
like fine brass indicates that it is not contaminated (shiny), neither
gets hurt with nothing of this world (brass). Something similar was seen in
(Ezek 1.7; Rev 10.1).
It isn’t in vain that the
Eternal commands Moses (Exodus 3.5 and Joshua (Joshua 5.15)
take the shoes from his feet. After all, the place where the Eternal
is is holy and, in addition to not contaminating our
feet, causes them to be purified.
In the presence of the
Eternal there is no space for anything that has been added of this world.
It is not enough. Considering that we are not able to put the sole of our foot
away from the Eternal, therefore we ought to take the protection provided
by this world against its abuse so that we can really put on our feet with
the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph 6.15).
Taking into account that we
will have to tread on serpents and scorpions, shim the feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace is needed (Eph 6.15).
Prepare the gospel of peace
is to get all the resources necessary for the sinner to be reconciled with
Jesus (2Cor 5.18-20) instead of remaining in the condemnation in which he is.
But, for this, you need
to prepare your heart (Ed 7.9.10; Is 76; Mt 3.3) for not
being sensitive to attacks that will surely come against us. We cannot get
dirty in our walk with resentment. We have to be ready for when Jesus comes
(Lk 12.36; Rev 3.20), no matter who he is going to bring on our
doorstep.
It is this preparation
which will enable the approximation of Christ (see Ed
7.9.10; Is 76; Mt 3.3) and that will prevent us from
hurting or sujemos while we walk.
7
- and the voice was
like the sound of many waters (Rev 1:15; compare Ezekiel 1:24; Ezekiel
43:2; Isaiah 17:12. See also Dan 10.6; Rev 14:2; Rev 19:6).
Contrast with the loud
voice as of a trumpet in Rev 1.10. The voice of Jesus is
like a strong thunder, the voice of a great multitude (Dan 14; Ezek 1.24; 43.2; Rev 14.2; 19.6), i.e., it
is as if many were talking.
Remember that in the
multitude of advice comes true wisdom (Prov 15.22;
24.6) and that in Jesus are all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge (Col 2.3). Therefore, the voice of Jesus is worth more
than all the experts together. Even more: He is the full confirmation of all
truth, as if a crowd composed of many different types of individuals were
talking about the same thing.
While, for those who
are in the world, the voice of Jesus, so mild that is, can only be
heard by few (1Kings 19.12), for those who are in heaven, the voice of
Jesus is powerful (Psalms 29.3-9), able to be heard far away by
everyone and act in the life of every one who thus permits. There is
no place in that the voice of Jesus cannot be heard (Ps 19.3.4).
However, neither by this
His voice ceases to be pleasing to the ears of the Bride (Songs 2.8; 5.2;
John 3.29), nor passed unnoticed for His sheep (John 10.2-5; Rev 3.20).
If we turn to the Eternal and
separate the precious from the vile, we will be His own mouth (Jer 15.19) or, if you prefer, He will be with our
mouth (Exodus 4:12). But for this we need leave to speak our words (Isaiah 58.13),
speak vain things (Matt 12.37) or malignant (Psalms 106.33; Eph 4.29; Jas 3.10-12).
8
- had in the right
hand seven stars (Rev 1.16.20; 2.1; 3.1).
Jesus has in His hand all
His messengers (John 10.28.29) as His crown of glory, a royal diadem (Isaiah 62.3).
This shows that He is the maintainer and possessor of His servants.
This is a consolation for those of us who believe. After all, if neither the
human being is able to discard something valuable that is his, how will say
Jesus.
This shows that no message
can be distorted when out of the mouth of His ambassador (2Cor
5.18-20). It also shows that there is no risk of them being hit by enemies
of the cross of Christ (Phil 3:18).
If there is now so much
apostasy and heresy is because, unfortunately, those who says to believe in
Jesus are not in fact seeking Him and His will. Instead of wanting to
be free of their desires (Ps 23.1 - KJV), they seek in Jesus the
satisfaction of your desires. Even when they want to exalt Jesus, they try
to reconcile this with something that corresponds to their wishes,
when the correct is to seek that Jesus be our satisfaction (Psalms 37.4).
For those who really accept
being in the hands of Jesus (at His immediate disposal), there
is no distorted message.
Only when we are prepared
to follow the example left by Christ (1Peter 2.21-24) is that we may shine
forth His light (Dan 12.3,4) and judge His house, keep His
courts and have free access to those who are His (Zechariah 3.7).
The fact that these stars
are on the right hand of Jesus wants to say that they are endowed with
power (see right hand in Psalm 21.8), please (see right hand in
Psalms 44.3), honor and authority (see right hand in Psalms 110.1) in order to
shine His light in the world (see Isaiah 9.1.2; Matt 4.15,16; 5.14-16;
Phil 2.14,15).
The right hand represents
the power of Christ in action (Exodus 15.6; Psalms 17.7; 44.3; 45.4; 60.5;
63.8; 74.11; 77.10; 78.54; 80.15.17; 89.13.42; 98.1; 108.16; 118.15,16; 29;
139.10; Isaiah 41.10; 48.13; Lamentations 2.3.4; Acts 2.33; 5.31).
That is to say, the mode of
the Eternal protect His Church is putting it at the service of good work (2Peter
1.5-8; see the treatment of the eternal to Elijah in 1Kings 19.15-18).
Comes the question: why did
the angels of the seven oholyao are
compared with stars? After all, the only one who has His own light is the Eternal.
The explanation is that there are two forms of Jesus to manifest His light:
making it shine internally (through the fruit of the Holy Spirit) and
making them shine externally through the gifts and talents (what makes us
lights in the world - Phil 2.14,15).
Notice that Jesus, as high
priest, is who is in the midst of the church keeping His light lit. In other
words, it is not our job. One of the functions of the priest was to ensure that
the candlestick of gold was always lit.
9
– out fo the mouth went a two-edged sword (Rev 1.16;
2.12.16; 19.15; see Isaiah 49.2).
The word sword appears 378
times in the Old Testament (for example in Psalm 45:3; Psalm 57:4;
59.7; Psalm 64:3; Psalm 149:6; Proverbs 12:18; Isa
11.4; Isaiah 49:2, etc.) and 33 times in the New Testament (Revelation 2:12,16; Revelation
19:15,21; comp. Luke 2:35; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12) and
never stimulating us to make use of it to harm someone's life.
This is not to say that
John saw the language of Jesus as if He were a sword, but that he experienced
within himself the feeling of a sword penetrating his soul and spirit when he heared the words of Jesus (see Psalms 105.5).
Jesus is the own word of
the Eternal (analyze Isaiah 49.2) that is "blown away" like
fire, hammer (Jeremiah 23.29) and sword (Hebrews 4.12). Notice how the
Eternal destroys His enemies with the breath of His mouth (Isaiah 11.4; 2
Thessalonians 2:8).
So, Jesus is the very
two-edged sword, which penetrates our soul when He speaks to us or when He
blows His understanding.
The fact of being two-edged
sword means that there is no way to handle this sword without being hurt by it.
The sword came out of the mouth of Christ to destroy the enemies of the Church,
both internal and external.
The Sword of the
Spirit (Eph 6.17), being two-edged sword (Heb 4.12), both brings condemnation (threat) to
unbelievers, as salvation (hope) to elected representatives.
The two-edged sword
resemble the Testament of the Law which served to cut the meat,
namely, the concepts and wrong values that were housed in the soul (see 1Tim
1.8-10) and the Testament of the Favor of the Eternal which operates
the circumcision in the spirit (Col 2.11), i.e., the removal of wisdom,
holiness, righteousness, human justice, as well as fleshly privileges. That is
to say, the cutting edge of the law removes the bad things and the cutting edge
of grace, the good things without Christ.
It is necessary that the
tongue cling to the palate, especially in the presence of the wicked, that we
do not attack him and, with this, we count on the opposition of the Eternal (Ps 22.15;
137.6; 1Peter 3.8-12). It should be with us as it was with Ezekiel: spoke only
when the Eternal allowed (Ezek 3.26-27).
Note that the sword is not
at hand, but in the mouth whose tongue has the power of blessing and cursing
(Jas 3.10-12). In other words, the sword is the tongue, inasmuch as it is
with the word that the Eternal created all things (including the human being - Genesis 1.26).
To create the human being, was for there to be His image and likeness in
this world. That is to say, it was not for anyone have an excuse that does not
see the Eternal (see Ps 19.1; Romans 1.18-20).
10 - the face was like the sun when shines in its strength (Rev 1.16;
see Acts 26.13).
Let us consider these
passages:
·
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield:
the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them
that walk uprightly." (Psalms 84.11).
·
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can
see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.
Amen." (1Timothy 6.16).
·
"The God of Israel said, the Rock of
Israel spake to me, He that ruleth
over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the
light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a
morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear
shining after rain." (2Samuel 23.3,4).
The Light of
Christ is something so intense that it can even blind
(which reminds us of what Jesus said in John 9.39), such as the truth can
blind of hatred, pride, etc. who is not prepared for it (hence Jesus say what
is in John 16.12).
The Eternal will not change
for our sake. He will always act as sun (Psalms 84.11). Both He can
allow us to see all things as obstructing our vision. It all depends
on how we position ourselves in relation to Him. It is worth remembering that
is in the illuminated countenance of Jesus as King of kings who is our
life (Prov 16.15).
Notwithstanding,
considering that no one can see the face of the Eternal and stay alive (Exodus 33.20),
so, as we don’t look for Him, accepting die for ourselves, we won’t
win our salvation (see Sl 80.3,7,19).
It is in vain that in the transfiguration,
Peter, James and John saw Jesus' face shining like the sun (Matt 17.2).
After all, Jesus was coming to save His Church (snatching it), which, at this
time will be shining as Him:
· " So let all thine
enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty
years." (Judges 5.31).
·
"Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Matthew 13.43).
·
" Their line is gone out through all the
earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a
tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to
run a race." (Psalms 19.4.5).
Every servant of the
Eternal, as we can see in the woman of Rev 12.1, should reflect the
light of the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4.2; Luke 1.78), without
any cloud of unbelief (2Peter 2:17; Jude 12) driven by every wind of doctrine
(Eph 4.14) to obscure Him. And this each
one must do with joy and readiness of mind.
We need to shine forth in
this generation as lights in the world (Philippians 2.14,15).
This feature can be seen in
the angels:
·
"And, behold, there was a great earthquake:
for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the
stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning,
and his raiment white as snow:” (Matthew 28.2.3).
Even Moses experienced a
glimpse of it while he was here alive:
·
"And it came to pass, when Moses came
down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he
came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that
the skin of his face shone while he talked with him." (Exodus 34.29).
I wish that, instead of
thinking to contemplate the stars in the hand of Jesus (being used by Him), we
would think about contemplate Jesus, whose light make the brightness of all
stars disappear. Indeed, in a true manifestation of Jesus, the One who is being
used by Him is not seen. If the pastor, apostle, evangelist, etc. is
evidenced, is a sign that it isn’t Jesus who is to operate.
It is necessary that
we don’t support ourselves in the formosure and
beauty that matters to this world (Isaiah 53.3), in order that
the joy of Jesus adorn our face (Prov 15.13).
Finally, the face
represents the identity of Jesus, which sheds light on who takes pleasure in
love and piety and blind who wants to take advantage of everything.
Although Jesus has
acquired all this tremendous change, it was still possible to
see the characteristics of all that He did in this world.
Finally, let us consider
these ten characteristics in the light of the role that Jesus will exercise in
Revelation (namely, the Judge):
1
- like the Son of Man
(Rev 1.13; 14.14; see Ezek 1.26; Dan 7.13;
10.16) => Jesus will not judge as someone greater than us,
but as someone who lived in our flesh everything that we live, but without
sin (Hebrews 4.15);
2
- clothed with a garment
down to the foot (Rev 1.13) => Jesus will judge us with His
robe of righteousness. It is His perfect testimony of life as our high
priest that ensures that no one has an excuse to say that cannot serve the
Eternal (see Psalms 23.6; Romans 3:14; Colossians 3.14);
3
- girt about the paps with a golden girdle (Rev 1.13) => Jesus will
judge us with the truth, which He lived for the sake of justice;
4
- the head and the
hair were white as white wool, like snow (Rev 1.14; see Dan 7.9) => Jesus judges us
with your wise, pure and holy mind;
5
- the eyes were as a
flame of fire (Rev 1.14; 2.18; 19.12; see Dan 14) => Jesus does not judge
according to appearance, but as that what He sees in the heart of each one with
His pure look (see Titus 1:15)
6
- the feet were similar to polished
brass as if it were melted in the furnace (Rev 15; Rev 2.18) => Jesus judges
according the gospel of peace that He prepared, regardless of the
type of terrain where He had to tread (Matthew 13.3-8).
7
- and the voice was like
the sound of many waters (Rev 1:15; compare Ezekiel 1:24; Ezekiel 43:2;
Isaiah 17:12. See also Dan 10.6; Rev 14:2; Rev 19:6) => Jesus judges us
with His breath, which makes sound His voice.
8
- had in His right hand
seven stars (Rev 1.16.20, 2.1; 3.1) => Jesus judges
us proving to everyone that He keeps His messengers where nobody can snatch
them: in His right hand (John 10.28,29).
9
– out of the mouth went a
two-edged sword (Rev 1.16; 2.12,16; 19.15; see Isaiah 49.2) =>
Jesus judges us with His mouth, in which never found any mistake, slander
and threat (1Peter 2:23).
10 - the face was like the sun when shines in its strength (Rev 1.16; see Acts 26.13) => Jesus judges us
with His face, i.e., with his character, identity.
But above all, Jesus judges
us by the fact of that He never abandoned His Church (Matthew 28.20), but is
always walking in the midst of the seven lampstands of gold.
Verses 17 and 18
·
" 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: 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. " (Rev 1.17,18).
The phrase "Fear
not" is used about 80 times in the Holy Scripture, and it is usually
to quiet the fears of the human being in the presence of the Eternal.
When Jesus begins to speak,
He only ends in Revelation 3.22, showing that it is a single quote.
There is no way to be more
alive than fall as dead at the feet of Jesus. Better to be there than live in
any other place (Psalms 84.10).
It is true that the gaze of
Jesus afraid, but His Word strengthens.
Many times we see Jesus
only as the man of Nazareth who died for us. We are ignoring the fact that He
was resurrected from the dead with all power and authority, as the man of the
revelation that John saw.
So that you have an idea of
what it means the vision of resurrected Jesus, compare the way that John was
affected by His encounter with Jesus, with the way that other individuals was
affected:
·
Manoah was afraid, but remained awake (Judges 13.19-22);
·
Isaiah was afraid, but remained awake (Isaiah 6.1-5);
·
Ezekiel fell on his face, but could hear the Eternal speak (Ezek 1.28; 3.23; 43.3; 44.4);
·
Daniel in this excerpt was only afraid and fell on his face (Daniel
8.17).
·
Paul fell to the ground, but he heard Jesus speaking to him (Acts 9.3.4;
22.6.7).
·
Daniel had his countenance changed in corruption, lost the forces, heard
something, and only then fainted (Daniel 10.7-9).
·
John, on the other hand, already fainted at once.
Hence you can see how the
presence of Jesus glorified is impactful and powerful!
The veil of the darkness
has been removed from us (hence the meaning of the name Revelation), so that
now we can see Jesus as the One seated on the throne at the right hand of the
Father to reign.
The human being, by best as
he may be, is so fallen that he cannot stand in the face of the glorious
presence of the Eternal. Those who have had an intimate experience with Him,
either one way or the other, ended up falling before Him. See these
examples: Isaiah 6:5; Ezek 1:28; Dan 8:17.18;
10:9-11; Luke 5:8; Acts 9:3-4.
And as a certain hand
touched in Daniel (Dan 10.9-11), and Jesus touched in the three disciples
there on the mount of transfiguration (of which John was one - Matt 17.7),
saying, "fear not", here again we have Jesus restoring the strength
of His servant with His words of encouragement (related to "Fear
not", since many refuse to do good because they fear losing or fail to
receive the benefit on time).
The hand that touched John
was exactly the hand that held the seven stars.
Detail: Jesus not called
John by name, such as the angel proceeded to speak with Zachariah and others).
This is probably due to the deep intimacy of John with His master.
This expression "fear
not" (or equivalent) can be seen in several places in Scripture (for
example: Gen 15.1; 26.7; 46.3; Deut 1.21;
Joshua 1.9; 8.1; 11.6; Judges 6.10.23; 2Kings 1.15; 19.6; 2Cr 20.15; Isa 7.4;
8.12; 10.24; 35.4; 37.6; 40.9; 41.10,13,14; 43.1,5; 44.2; 51.7; 54.4; Jer 1.8; 30.10; 46.27,28; Ezek 2.6;
Daniel 10.12,19; Zephaniah 3.16.1; Hagai 2.5; Zechariah 8.13.15; Matt 10.28,31;
14.27; 28.10; Luke 1.13,30; 2.10; 5.10; Luke 12.4,7,32; Acts 18.9; 1 Peter
3.14).
Thus Christ encouraged the
apostles on the Sea of Galilee (John 6.20), in the transfiguration (Matt 17.7).
And this is the message of Jesus for us. A lot of times, the first thing
that was said to him that received the message of the Eternal was "fear
not". Many times to quiet the fear of the man in relation to the Eternal.
And what was the reason for
discouragement (fear) of John? Note how Jesus comforted John identifying Himself
with the Eternal (as in Exodus 3.14):
1 - I am the first. That is to say, it was
Jesus who created everything. There is nothing before Him. From Him that all
things come. Furthermore, before Jesus, no other man was considered God.
2 - I am the last. That is to say, it is
Jesus who will recompense to each one. After Jesus, never arise
another man regarded as God. And at the end, everything will converge to
Him (Ephesians 1.10; Colossians 1.20).
Jesus is the first and the
last (something that is connected to the Eternal - Isiaih 41.4;
44.6; 48.12) and the path that connects the beginning to the end (John 14.6).
That is, everything starts in Him, happens in Him and comes to Him
(Romans 11.36). He does everything. The only thing we need to do is trust
Him, doing only what He commands.
The first and last also means:
· From eternity to
eternity;
·
The first by creation
and the latter by retribuition;
·
The first because,
before the Eternal, no god was formed; the latter because, after Him there is
no other God;
·
The first because
from Him, are all things and the latter because to Him all things return.
Three times Jesus is referred to as "the first
and last” in Revelation (Revelation 1.17; 2.8; 22.13).
3 - I am the living. In other words, Jesus is
what He lives. Unlike the sinner who lives what he wants to be, Jesus lives
because, first of all, He is. The human being is only considered someone
(including by himself) after he do or achieve things. Jesus, however, already is
everything that He has to be. He does not live to win things, but rather to
express all what each one needs to be in Him.
Jesus is the only one
capable of living the life, and this is because He is the essence of life (John
5:26), "the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14.6), the own "Living
God" (Psalms 42:2).
As for the emphasis of
Jesus in saying that He is, due to the fact that we can only be something of
truth (John 14.6) if He makes us this someone. Otherwise, we will be
living a lie and we will not have a condition of being nothing in the life of
anyone (Romans 3.11). After all, the best way to make someone happy is
being happy. Happiness is not to be a state of mind, but rather what identify
us.
4 - I am he that liveth, and was
dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore (See Romans 6.9; Rev 4.9; 5.14). The contrast
between "I AM" and "went dead" compares the physical and
momentary death of Jesus with His eternal life.
The same idea is said about
the Father (Dan 12.7; Rev 4.10; 10.6). This is a great
comfort to those who are in trouble, because it means that Jesus is truly
God with us (Matt 1.23), as He promised (Matt 28.20).
Although Jesus had life in
Himself (John 5.26), yet He became dead to teach us that, even though we give
our life for love of the brethren (John 15.12,13), yet nothing can steal
our reward: eternal life.
·
"Knowing that
Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him." (Romans 6.9).
· "Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. " (John 5.24).
After all, Jesus tasted
death for all men in order to nobody lived more for oneself, but were free to
serve their brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus through the rest of their
lives:
·
"But we see
Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace
of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to
make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise
took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2.9,10,14,15).
·
"And that he
died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” (2Corinthians 5.15).
Understand the reason
Jesus had accepted to suffer at the hands of the wicked? It is to show us
that when something is, nothing can change that. For example: the mango will
always be mango, no matter the reason for the one have been cultivated, the
terrain on which was planted or in whose hands it is.
In other words, how Jesus
really is the resurrection and the life (John 11.25), despite all the
efforts of Ha-Satan and his gang, yet could not extinguish this in Jesus.
And as it pleased the Father that had life in Jesus (John 10.17,18), if we
remain steadfast in Him, nothing can destroy what the Eternal has for us.
Jesus, as man, died, but He
completed His mission (John 19.30; 17.4), so that He won the battle and
now He lives forever (Rev 4.10; 10.6 - this offers hope for us). Jesus
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10),
i.e., confirming that the death penalty has been abolished. And because Jesus
lives, we will live also (John 14.19).
By centuries of centuries
does not mean "through the centuries", but rather "into
eternity". After all, once that Jesus is eternal life (John 17.3; 1John
5.20), the question is not live forever simply, but live in a progressive
eternity, experiencing Jesus moving inside of us and leading us to an ever
deeper knowledge of Him indefinitely.
In fact, it is advisable to
make it clear that Jesus did not say only that He lived in the present, but
forever and ever. In other words, not only He is eternal, but has full
knowledge of all the events that are yet to come, experiencing them as if they
were present. In other words, the story is not walking as a train derailed.
Jesus is working a glorious future for the Church, even if, for a few moments,
there will be two beasts dominating humanity.
5 - and I have
the keys of death and Hades. Death And Hell are not in power of Ha-Satan, but of the Eternal. Jesus has
the key of both, which will be banned in Rev 20.11-14.
Jesus destroyed the works
of the devil (1John 3.8), i.e., the
works of his system (see John 12.31, 14.30, 16.11) whose
base is death and hell.
Considering that Jesus has
the key, therefore, before everything, there is port. What are the ports that
exist in Holy Scripture?
There are 4 things
that have door:
·
The hearts of the individuals (Psalm 24.7-10);
·
The death (Job 38.17; Psalm 9:13);
·
The Sheol (Matthew 16.18),
which is often translated by grave (Isaiah 38.10).
·
The kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16.18,19).
Jesus has the key, i.e.,
the authority to open and close any door.
Soon, nobody dies or goes
to hell unless Jesus allows. In fact, Jesus Himself is the key to everything,
because anyone who believes in Jesus, is passed from death unto life (John 5.24;
1John 3.14); He that believeth not is condemned already (John 3.18). There
is nothing that anyone can do to steal the salvation of the believer, nor to
give life to those who do not believe.
In the book of Revelation,
death and hell also come to life (Rev 6.8; 20.13.14), as if hell had
a huge jaw that grew (Isaiah 5:14) insatiable (Proverbs 27.20) to receive all
that will be sent (Isaiah 14.9).
However, Hades is the place
where the dead are to be resurrected by Christ.
There is still one more
thing to be observed: Although John had seen the risen Jesus, the fact of
seeing so many brothers and sisters in Christ being martired
and, apparently, nothing happens with the tormentors, everything seemed lost
time. Especially considering that Jesus had promised to come, but until that
moment more than 50 years had passed and nothing had happened.
In spite of everything that
he saw and heard of Jesus while He was in the flesh, before the correct view
about Jesus, John was afraid. How to have access to the entire heavenly
revelation, the first thing that needs to be treated is our conception of
Jesus, as well as our unbelief, hence Jesus first show Himself to John and
treat his fear. It is possible to see the Kingdom of Eternal with
dubious faith. After all, fear is a sign that the love is not perfected
(1John 4:18).
Verse 19
·
"Write the
things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which
shall be hereafter;" (Rev 1.19).
By 38 times John says that
he saw the events taking place.
There is connection between
past, present and future.
What you saw (what happened
in our life with regard to everything that is written), those things that are
(what is going on in our lives) and the ones will happen (what will happen in
our life based on all this).
What you saw also shows
that the Book of Revelation is the account of an eyewitness. John does not
imagined or dreamed the Revelation. He lived all events written.
John should write:
1) The things he saw, i.e.,
everything that he saw in this chapter, namely, who really is Jesus;
2) The things that are, i.e.,
the content of chapters 2 and 3.
3) What shall happen, i.e.,
what is reported in chapters 4 to 22.
The fact that say
"write, because", due to the fact that John should write the Revelation
because of everything that Jesus is, in particular the fact He was dead and
returned to live for all eternity, what gave Him the keys of death and of
Hades.
In other words, the reason
of the Revelation was written due to the total control that Jesus has on all
events of history, as well as of determining the fate of each one. That is
to say, it is in order to that each one can be sure that they don't
need to fight to try to improve this world. After all, in addition to this
never to happen in this dispensation, our victory is guaranteed despite
all wickedness that it’s possible come to light through all humanity. Can
we have the humility to accept all this and a willingness to let Jesus shows
everyone what He wants through us.
The secret is not what we
are or we cease to be, nor what we have or what we think we need to have, but to
be or not connected in Christ.
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." (Rev 1.20).
Who are the angels? Whereas
the word angel appears 72 times in the Book of Revelation (65 + once in each of
the seven letters) and in none of the 65 times is referring to humans, many
believe that it is heavenly beings sent to help those who shall be heirs of
salvation (see Psalms 34.7; Heb 1:14).
It is good to remember that
had angels who specialize in:
·
Save the lives of children (Matthew 18.10);
·
Save the life of Peter (Acts 12.15);
·
Save an entire nation (Daniel 10:13; Daniel 12:1).
So, for such individuals,
there is an angel (heavenly being) to take care of each oholyao?
On the other hand, consider
that Malachi says that the priest is the angel of the Lord of hosts (Malachi
2.7) and that we are all priests (1Peter 2.5; Rev 1.6; 5.10). Therfore, every one that believeth shall zeal to each other
(see 1Corinthians 12.25,26).
That is to say: angel are
not the pastors of religious institutions, but each one that believes in Jesus.
The fact that the angels
(messengers) being considered as stars is because, one who is faithful to
Christ, expresses the light of wisdom of the Eternal wherever he goes (Dan 12.3; Phil 2.14,15),
and for this reason is considered noble (see Num 24.17).
Note that:
·
When Ha-Satan was the seal of the measure (Ezekiel 28.12), he was a
star (Isaiah 14.12-14). Therefore, the stars that fell from heaven
(Rev 8.10) is Ha-Satan from the moment that he allowed his wisdom was
corrupted (Ezek 28.17);
·
The stars that Ha-Satan managed to drag (Rev 12.4) are those
who should serve the Creator, but preferred to be dragged by false prophets
(Isaiah 9.15). The prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail (Isaiah 9.15),
which leads many masters fall down in faith (Rev 12.4).
·
The gadabout stars (Jd 13) are false
prophets who, because they are corrupted by sin, try to drag the disciples of
Jesus after themselves (Acts 20.30; Gal 4.17) with its corrupted biblical
doctrine, leading others to seek in Christ the pleasures of this life (Matt
16.23; 1Cor 15.19).
·
the false teachers also are wandering stars (Jude 13) and the masters
that many teach righteousness, like the stars in the firmament (Daniel 12.3).
·
See how stars is a symbol of eminence and authority:
o
"I shall see him, but not
now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob,
and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab,
and destroy all the children of Sheth." (see Num 24.17).
·
We must shine as lights in the world (Phil 2.14,15).
·
A prophet can also be considered an angel (Malachi 3.1; Haggai 1.13).
Based on this, we can
conclude that the angel, first of all, means a messenger (prophet) prominent
who has authority and who drags people after oneself.
Angel here with certainty
is not someone chosen by the followers of Jesus to govern the oholyao. It is true that it there is an identification of each
angel with his oholyao. After all, as well as
the children carry the identity of parents, siblings who were instructed carry
within themselves the identity of "angel" who instructed them and taught
until it was time to "marry" with Jesus (see Ezekiel 14; Acts 13.2.3;
Ephesians 4.11-14).
Thus, the union angel-oholyao is not rigid. The Eternal brings His sons from
far away to be treated (see these illustration below):
· "Thus
saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set
up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their
arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders."
(Isaiah
49.22)
· "Surely
the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons
from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy
God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee."
(Isaiah
60.9).
·
"Fear
not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather
thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep
not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;"
(Isaiah 43.5.6).
And, after treated, leads
them to all corners of the earth to spread His glory (Isaiah 11.9; Habakkuk
2:14).
Besides, note that anyone
who has ears ought to listen, not what the angel says to the oholyao, but what the Holy Spirit is saying to the oholyao. That is to say, the true role of who is mature in
the faith is not just listen to the voice of the Eternal and pass it on to his
spiritual sons, but prepare all so that they can have communion with the Eternal.
So much so that the Holy Spirit will not only talks with the angel of
oholyao, but with all the oholyao.
You may wonder: "But
then, why refer to the angel in the singular? It is because each one
that believes must zeal of the Church of Christ with zeal of the Eternal
(see Num 25.11-13; Rev 3.19),
i.e., as if he was the only responsible for her. Each one must have the message
of the Eternal to transmit to the Church (Haggai 1.13; 1Cor 14:26), as did John
the Baptist (Malachi 3.1), namely, allowing Jesus to express His uniqueness
that He put in the life of each one (see Psalms 25.14).
This points to the loving
care of Jesus that has His Sons in His hand (John 10.28.29; see Rev 2.1)
and remains among them.
If we analyze carefully, we
see that, both the seven stars as the seven lamps represent the Church.
Jesus uses the seven stars that are in His hand to keep His seven torches lit
in the seven candlesticks while passing through them.
·
Candlestick is something created by man. They represent the lives of
those who want to be the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1Timothy 3.15). While
Jesus "strolling" between His oholyao,
He keeps His light shining on them (John 8.12; 9.5) through His Spirit acting
in His ministers with the objective of making of the Church a reference in this
dark world. It is the witness of the Church on earth, the manifestation of the
Spirit of the Eternal externally.
Unlike the candlestick that
was in the holy Place (in the presence of the Eternal in spirit, which
represents the legal aspect), the seven lampstands of Revelation are in the
presence of Jesus glorified who triumphed over sin and death, and supplies the
candlesticks with Your Truth instead of olive oil.
·
The seven stars are sources of natural light (something essential in
this world in darkness - Isaiah 60.1). They represent the divine
favor in the Church, as well as the witness of this in heaven. They are those
in whom Jesus worked internally His truth (Dan 12.3; Phil 2.14,15) which will
serve to feed the seven oholyao with the Spirit
of the Eternal.
Jesus maintains continuous
contact with each one of those who remain seated in heavenly places (Ephesians
1.3; 2.6) in order to grant them all that pertain unto life and godliness (2
Peter 1.3). To this end, He takes some in His hand to minister in the lives of
others (John 10.28,29) (and vice versa).
To reinforce this idea,
note how the mystery has to do with the seven stars and the seven
golden lampstands. Whereas the mystery of Christ is His presence in the Church
(Eph 5.32; Col 1.26,27), therefore the
candlesticks and stars represent the way of Jesus act in the
Church.
Mystery is something that
requires the presence of Jesus and His church to be revealed.
Nobody needs to buy message
of other people or to seek foreign preachers to speak to the congregation. The
Eternal is who knows what each one needs to hear.
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