Then I Turned

Revelation 1:12-16 (ESV Strong's)

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

When we turn to the Lord, it is then we can begin to see the Lord. John sees Jesus in the light of who He is. Jesus is the Son of God who became the Son of Man so that we might become sons of God. Those who turn to the Lord become the light of the world because He is with us and in our midst. 

The image before him are attributes that uniquely identify Him as Christ Jesus. His wisdom and righteousness are signified by His white hair and may remind us of God the Father. His eyes burn with the refining fire and judgement of the Lord. The bronze feet could symbolize His time walking on the earth as a man through the furnace of tribulation and death. His voice like many waters is comprised of all those who are in the body of Christ. They are held in the palm of His hand and from there they share light of Christ. When He speaks, the Spirit of truth gives utterance. His face shines with the light that is only possible from the one who is the exact image of God. 

Like A Trumpet

Revelation 1:10-11 (ESV Strong's)

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

The Holy Spirit is the angel of the Lord who John soon reveals as Christ Jesus. One of the Old Testament uses of a trumpet was “to give signals of war.”  (NTThe) This might be useful in interpreting its use in this verse. The voice of the Lord speaks of the beginning of the last days when the work of God is finished. The trumpet is also used in calling convocations. Most notable for the Church has to be the sound of the last trumpet that signals the gathering of the body of Christ at His return. 

He begins with His last words to the people of the churches and to the church as a whole, giving instructions, encouragement, and warnings to guide them in the way of the Lord. In each letter He ends with the blessings and glory that will be given to all who overcome the world. They will be the light He has separated from the darkness. They will become one with the light of the world. 

Who Overcomes

Revelation 3:21-22 (NASB Strong's)

21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Spiritual formation is being made in the image of God. It happens after one is saved. Putting our faith in Christ justifies us before God, but to join Him on His throne we must overcome the world. That is the world of the flesh in which we find ourselves. This is where we remain unless we find where Jesus is staying. It is a journey we must undertake to make it our home. He is making room for us now as we become a new creature in Christ. 

Transformation into the mind and maturity of Jesus is the operation and outcome of sanctification. This is the creation of the Bride of Christ. It is taking place today in our midst. 

Everyone in the body of Christ can walk with Jesus to reach the wedding feast. Not everyone will take that path, for it is the narrow way. But those who hear what the Spirit says and follow His leading will arrive for that celebration and eat from His table. 

Amen

In The Tribulation

Revelation 1:9 (ESV Strong's)

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

John references three aspects of the life of those in the body of Christ. When the Holy Spirit descends on a person, they immediately find themselves in the wilderness of the earth that is revealed when they are no longer of this world. It is the same terrain, but we now walk as a new creation in Christ. Tribulation is inevitable when light encounters the darkness. 

We find ourselves in a position where we ourselves are in the kingdom of heaven, yet still find our feet on the earth and housed in the mortal flesh of mankind. Endurance requires obedience to the word of God and obedience is learned by enduring in His word. 

They both will bring us to the throne of Christ. 

Every Eye

Revelation 1:7-8 (ESV Strong's)

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The first time He came to earth by the Holy Spirit as a baby wrapped in the flesh of mortal man. Few would see Him and fewer still would recognize Him as the King and Savior of the world. The creation of man in the image of God would began with the firstborn of all creation. This made a way for man to be reborn in the life of God and transformed into a son of God.  And so it is. 

His return will be much different. His divinity and identity will be plain for all to see. This reflects another nuance of meaning when He says “I am the Alpha and the Omega who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” He is the eternal I AM who was born a man and will return as the King of Kings. He will thus take His rest on earth in the image of man who has been raised and glorified in the exact image of God. His work of creation will be finished. 

The Heavens Were Opened

Matthew 3:16-17 (ESV Strong's)

16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus grew in the spirit of a man, strong and without sin, before receiving the Holy Spirit at His baptism. He opened the door to heaven and would provide the way to get there. 

The Spirit of God brought Jesus into the world and His Spirit will bring us into the kingdom of heaven. He is the binding that joins heaven and earth into fellowship with the Lord. In the unity of the Spirit we are made one. 

His Star

Matthew 2:1-2 (ESV Strong's)

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

His star is the light of the world. It rose when He was born, just as ours does when we are reborn into the life of Christ. We become the light of the world and the descendants of Abraham which will be as numerous as the stars in the night sky. 

A Kingdom

Revelation 1:6 (ESV Strong's)

and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

A new kingdom has arrived which supersedes the Garden of Eden. The presence of the Lord is now given in the heart of man and it is there we find the kingdom of heaven established until it is fully revealed on earth. 

If we follow Him and obey His word, we will join Him as a royal priesthood and share in His glory and dominion. He will sit on David’s throne in the midst of the New Jerusalem which will descend from heaven. We will eat fruit of the tree of life and abide with Him forever. 

Freed By His Blood

Revelation 1:4-5 (ESV Strong's)

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

God who is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sends His greetings and blessings to these seven churches, and through them to the Church at large and over time. We experience God in creation by His Holy Spirit and His Son Jesus Christ. God the Father is bigger than creation, but enters through the Spirit and Son. 

We meet through the medium of flesh and blood. He spilled His blood to enter our death and became the firstborn of the dead by His resurrection. We are reborn from the dead and trade our life in the blood of man for the life of God found in receiving His Spirit. Our resurrection is yet to come. 

From that body will come the Bride of Christ. These are referred to in the letters as those who overcome or conquer the world. This is the earth/world of self. If we can get past that, we will join our Lord as bone of His bone and flesh in the kingdom of heaven. What we will be is yet to be revealed. 

The Time Is Near

Revelation 1:3 (ESV Strong's)

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

The one who confesses these words, who understands and keeps them will be blessed by them. They speak to the reality of now and the reality to come, for the time is near. 

We are in the pause of God’s timeline to allow for the Bride of Christ to take shape. The book of Revelation is the final chapter in the book of creation before Christ enters into His Sabbath rest here on earth in His kingdom. 

The Revelation

Revelation 1:1-2 (ESV Strong's)

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Jesus only speaks what He hears His Father say because He is the word of God. His angel is the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and Son. 

A Place For You

John 14:1-3 (ESV Strong's)

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Where will Jesus be when we inherit the place He has prepared for you? It will be here on earth where He returns. He is preparing us now through the work of the Holy Spirit as we transform our earthly minds into the mind of Christ. 

Our rooms in our Father’s house is the new body of Christ that will become ours. We presently reside in these tents of mortal flesh. They are no longer our home, for our home is with the Lord in a new house made of His flesh and bones. 

We will join Him on His throne in the New Jerusalem. We will be part of the new living temple that will shine the light of God into the ends of the earth. 

Revelation In The Spirit

Revelation 1:9-11

Vision of the Son of Man

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

The book of Revelation is mostly the conclusion of the story of God entering creation through His chosen people of Israel. 

The book is written to and for His servants in the Church of Jesus Christ who are united in the presence of the Spirit. John is in the Spirit to receive the vision. We must be in the Spirit to hear it. 

Chapters 1 through 3 address and apply as warnings and encouragement for the Church in the pause in God’s timeline that allows for the gathering of the Gentiles into the kingdom of heaven. 

Chapter 4 begins the grand finale of the testimony of Scripture which starts with Genesis, “In the beginning God...” and applies to Israel and those who dwell on the earth. 

The Revelation

Revelation 1:1-2 (ESV Strong's)

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Jesus only speaks what He hears His Father say because He is the word of God. His angel is the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and Son. 

A Contrary Gospel

Galatians 1:8-9 (ESV Strong's)

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

There is one gospel, just as there is one truth and just as there is one God. Anything different is opinion, wishful thinking, or rebellion to God based on self pride. This is one way to live, but not forever. Grazing in the grass of mortality along side the beasts of the field might fill your stomach, but it won’t fill your life. 

The Life I Now Live

Galatians 2:19-20 (ESV Strong's)

19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The path to the life of God is through death. That was decided when Adam ate the forbidden fruit and spiritually died and was driven from the presence of the Lord. 

For man to return to the presence of the Lord, he must go back the way he came. We must die to self. Jesus died Himself for us to open the way back to the Garden of decision. We meet with Him on our own cross of denying self. We are then each back in the Garden to learn obedience as He did when He walked on the earth as a man. If we persevere and overcome our flesh, we will eat from the tree of life. 

We have the Spirit within to lead us through the wilderness. The way can get dark, but He is a lamp unto our feet. 

God Will Save Zion

Psalms 69:34-36 (ESV Strong's)

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.

35 For God will save Zion

and build up the cities of Judah,

and people shall dwell there and possess it;

36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,

and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

The world seems to be inexplicably against Israel. This little piece of earth and the people who have reclaimed their land after thousands of years seems to be offensive to most everyone. Why?

It is because the world is under the dominion of Satan and he hates God. His rebellion to God has his last stand on the earth before his final resting place in the lake of fire that awaits. 

The offspring of Israel will fully inherit the promised land and those who love the name of the Lord will dwell there. The Bride of Christ will be the living temple in the New Jerusalem. 

Through A Revelation

Galatians 1:11-12 (ESV Strong's)

11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. Without the Spirit, the gospel cannot be heard with understanding. The words of man often have merit and often do not. Either can serve as a teaching point by the Spirit in the revelation of God’s truth. We equally can learn from a good example or a bad one. 

We have all eaten of the forbidden fruit and may be satisfied for a time. Some will reach for the fruit of life and be satisfied for all time. 

For My Name

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (ESV Strong's)

12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Revelation 3:12 (ESV Strong's)

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

In Christ, we are the offspring of God and the temple of the Lord who will receive His name. This is the temple built not with human hands, but the power and will of God. This temple will remain forevermore, built with living stones that are everlasting. 

God Gave Them Up

Romans 1:28-32 (ESV Strong's)

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Being apart from God, ignorance of history, and functional illiteracy largely explain the chaos and corruption which surround us. 

God is the source of knowledge, truth, and wisdom. Denying Him leads to being given over to the darkness of the flesh of man without the light of Christ to show the way. We are given over to the ways of the world, lost in the darkness of wilderness of mankind. 

Lord Of The Sabbath

Matthew 12:8 (ESV Strong's)

For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

The rest of God is found in Jesus Christ. To enter His rest we must enter the body of Christ and follow Him to the kingdom of heaven. Some will rise and join Him on His throne. 

Revelation 3:21 (ESV Strong's)

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Might Become Heirs

Titus 3:4-7 (ESV Strong's)

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God’s mercy enables us to choose Him, trading our life for His.  The regeneration made possible with the gift of the Holy Spirit brings us to the same garden of decision given to Adam. The presence of the Spirit gives us the freedom to choose. 

We have the advantage over Adam in that we already know the difference between good and evil. Our eyes have been opened to see the good of the Lord and the evil of man. We can see the difference and choose accordingly. 

Will we obey God and not eat the forbidden fruit? Will we choose to eat from the tree of life, or choose one of the many other trees in the garden? Not everyone will choose eternal life, but now we can decide for ourselves. 

To Reveal Him

Matthew 11:27 (ESV Strong's)

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Jesus has made it possible to know and be known by God. He came to us that we might come to Him. All who come will see God. 

We have been invited to the wedding feast as the Bride of Christ. Make every effort to attend. 

As With Sons

Hebrews 12:7-8 (NASB Strong's)

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

The ones who overcome the world are those who endure to the end. We endure what comes our way and transform into the children of God through His instruction and leading. 

There is no other way to God. Jesus tells us He is the way, the truth, and the life. 

The Waters Were Divided

Exodus 14:21-22 (ESV Strong's)

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

 The Lord has made a way through the sea of mankind by His Spirit who exposes dry land for us to walk with Him into the life of the kingdom of heaven. It is up to us cross, going neither to the right or left, but straight to the other side. 

Do not be afraid! Behold the power and mercy of Christ who is “God With Us” and the salvation of mankind. 

My Yoke

Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV Strong's)

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It is up to us to take His yoke and learn His way. We transform our minds by following the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

The hardest part may be in accepting His yoke, but that is the first step in a sanctifying walk through the wilderness that will take us to the throne of God. Each step of the journey is up to us. 

In The Kingdom

Matthew 13:41-43 (ESV Strong's)

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The kingdom of the Son of Man will be on the earth when Jesus returns to the earth and remains. His kingdom will come and His will  be done. 

Those in Christ will be the light of the world and will shine to the ends of the earth as the New Jerusalem on Mt. Zion. 

The Rest Of God

Genesis 2:2

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 

Genesis 2:3

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Sabbath rest is fulfilled when we rest in Jesus. We rest in His mercy and life all seven days of the week. Our response is to live our lives as a living prayer. His yoke is easy as we walk with Him. We are to live in the presence of the Lord without ceasing. 

 This is the reality of every day for those in Christ. 

The Exact Image

We are made in the image of God because He took our body for Himself. 

That image is complete when we receive and take His Spirit for ourselves, followed by a body like the glorified body of our risen Lord. 

This is the exact image of the Lord. 

Everyone Who Survives

Zechariah 14:16-17 (ESV Strong's)

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

When the kingdom of Christ is established in all the earth and all of His enemies have been gathered and removed, those who remain on earth will live in the reality of the Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Christ Jesus. 

Christ will sit on the throne of David. The earth is not destroyed as many think, but is made new by the return of Christ. His kingdom will be established on earth as it is in heaven. His will will be done then on earth as it is done now in heaven. 

It is the the earth, or body, of those who rest in Christ that will undergo a transformation into a new glorified body that will be like His. The immortal will replace the mortal. It will consummate the work of the Lord in the new creation of man to be His eternal companion. They will rule to the ends of the earth from the New Jerusalem. 

Newness Of Life

Romans 6:4 (ESV Strong's)

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Walking in the newness of life brings us nearer to the image of Christ who is the image of God. Going no further than accepting the grace of Christ will leave us in the image of man.  This is the starting place for the journey through the wilderness.