The Light As Fire

The light of the world came to cast fire on the earth. Peace on earth has not arrived, only the division between the darkness and the light. 

But Rather Division - Luke 12:49-51

Luke 12:49-51 ESV 

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

Jesus received the Holy Spirit as a dove of peace. His disciples would receive the Spirit as tongues of fire. This is the fire Jesus wished was already kindled. It will continue the separation and division that comes about when the light shines in the darkness. It is the word entering our lives or rejected. 

Alive Forevermore - Revelation 1:17-20

Revelation 1:17-20

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

John becomes as one dead before Christ, which is exactly where we all are before we see Him for ourselves. In seeing Him we realize our life is not life. We begin to see beyond the grave of mankind and into the life of Christ. He lays His hand on us and we join Him in life evermore. He has acquired the keys of Death and Hades, but He is the key to life. 

The seven stars are the light of the seven churches which are supplied by the continuous flow of the oil of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of the one in the midst of the lampstands. It is the Lamb of God. 

Like A Son Of Man - Revelation 1:12-16

Revelations 1:12-16

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 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. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 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.

The lampstands may signify the foundation and the formation of that which supports the burning flame of the Holy Spirit and brings forth the light of God. This applies to the children of light. We stand on the foundation that is Christ and are refined by the word of God lived out in the furnace of the world. He has lifted us up to reflect His light in the world. A city on a hill. 

John beholds a vision of Christ in His glorified state as the King of Kings. The hairs of His head reflect His righteousness as the perfect Lamb of God. His eyes burn with the flame of the Holy Spirit. His feet give witness to His refining walk on earth as the Son of Man. His voice is like the roar of many waters, which may allude to the Body of Christ which has come from the waters of mankind. 

He sits at the right side of God and is the strong arm of the Lord. He is the word of God who is the two edged sword of truth of the Spirit. His face is the exact imprint and radiance which is the glory of God. We are being formed in His image, the image of God. 

To The Seven Churches - Revelation 1:9-11

Revelation 1:9-11

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.”

At present, those who belong to the kingdom of heaven participate and must patiently endure the tribulations of the body of Christ which has not ascended into heaven, but still sojourns in the wilderness of the world. We who follow Christ follow Him into a time of testing and refining in our own wilderness journey. We encounter the same temptations and deceptions as did Adam and Jesus. Jesus shows us the way to prevail and overcome the world. Adam shows us how we can become lost. 

John was in the Spirit on that day when he heard from the angel of the Lord. It is the Spirit who brings revelation of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 

The sound of a trumpet announces and signifies the proclamation as the word of God. The visions to come are to be shared with the seven churches, and hence to the Church with all the saints who follow. 

A Kingdom - Revelation 1:6-8

Revelation 1:6-8

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

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

He has planted our feet in the kingdom of heaven. We are still on this earth, but not of this world (Phi 3:29). We serve as a holy and royal priesthood(1 Peter 2:5, 2:9). He will return as He left the earth(Acts 1:11, Mat 24:64), but with His Bride- the New Jerusalem. We serve Him in the new temple that is the body of Christ. 

At present not everyone can see the light of the Lord. When He returns everyone will behold the Son of God. He is the first fruits of the harvest of mankind in whom the seed of the word has taken root and produced the fruit of the Spirit, which is man made in the image of Christ. 

The last verse confirms that Jesus is Lord, the first and last, and God Almighty. They are of the same essence. They are one. 

The Firstborn - Revelation 1:4-5

Revelation 1:4-5

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, 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

The seven churches seems to represent the Church in its entirety. Seven is the number of completion and perfection. The Church is the embodiment of the Spirit. 

This might be viewed as a greeting from God in His threefold fullness. The Everlasting Father is the one who is and was and is to come(Rev 1:8). The Holy Spirit might be represented by the seven spirits(church) before the throne(Rev 4:5), and Jesus is the Son and faithful witness who brings the word of God to all mankind(Luk 9:34).

The phrase “The firstborn of the dead” speaks to His resurrection from the grave, and may also remind us that we are all dead in sin until He frees us. He has entered the grave of the flesh and  has raised it up to become alive to God. He is the firstborn of the many who will follow(Eph 4:8).

God Gave Him - Revelation 1:1-3

Revelation 1:1-3 ESV 

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, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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.

God is the testimony of Jesus. 

Jesus is the word of God. 

The Holy Spirit is His angel who speaks the truth. 

Jesus only speaks what He hears from His Father, for He is of the Father. When God speaks into creation, it is with the word that is God. It is through the power of the Spirit that the word is revealed. He is still speaking the word of creation into the hearts of man. We are being transformed into a new creation. The Holy Spirit overshadows us and we are reborn into the life of God. 

Reading the word contains the idea of knowing it again. The word is received by John which is the first knowing. He knows it again as he puts the revelation into written words enabling the revelation to be shared with others. Reading it out loud gives witness to those unable to read. It is confessed and proclaimed in the reading aloud. 

Hearing reflects an understanding of what is read, which comes from meditation on the word. The word is given. The word enters a man through the ears and eyes, but the word takes root within the heart of a man.

Keeping the word means taking it to heart and living the word. It is nourished by faith and obedience and grows into a tree in the Garden of God. It is incumbent on each one of us to tend and work the soil of our earth so the seed of the word will prosper. 

God has spoken from the beginning, and from a mountaintop, and through His Son and now in our hearts. He speaks through this revelation given to John. Through it all and through the Holy Spirit, He is still speaking.

The Threshing Floor - 2 Chronicles 3:1

2 Chronicles 3:1 ESV 

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

The threshing floor was where the wheat was separated from the chaff. The house of the Lord is where the sheep are separated from the goats, and the wheat from the chaff. 

Today the threshing takes place over all the earth in each heart. 

Matthew 3:12

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

On Each One - Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1-4 ESV 

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The fire of the Lord blessed the disciples individually as the Spirit descended on each one. The surrounding people were amazed. This is the mark of the body of Christ. 

When Aaron lifted his hands, the fire that came from the Lord blessed the people as a whole. This is the mark of the servants of God. 

Leviticus 9:22-24 

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

Perpetual - Leviticus 7:34-36

Leviticus 7:34-36 ESV 

For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel. This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the Lord's food offerings, from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the Lord. The Lord commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel, from the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations.”

Perpetual is a long time. Irrevocable is forever. Both these words apply to Israel. So is the promised land. 

Romans 11:26-32

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

“and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Making It Personal

God made it personal. He is our Father. 

Redeemer From Old - Isaiah 63:15-16

Isaiah 63:15-16 ESV 

Look down from heaven and see,

from your holy and beautiful habitation.

Where are your zeal and your might?

The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion

are held back from me.

For you are our Father,

though Abraham does not know us,

and Israel does not acknowledge us;

you, O Lord, are our Father,

our Redeemer from of old is your name.

Heaven is the true Holy of Holies. The tabernacle and temple were but shadows of the real thing. They were given to instruct us in the ways of God, of who He is and His plan for us. 

He is our Redeemer from the beginning. 

The Fire

Fire was used to make an offering to the Lord in the Old Testament. 

The fire of the Holy Spirit is used in the New Testament to make a living sacrifice to the Lord. 

Both are pleasing to the one who made us. 

All That The Lord Commanded - Exodus 40:16-17

Exodus 40:16-17 ESV 

This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.

God was specific in the building of the tabernacle. Moses complied with the commandments of the Lord. 

Jesus is specific in the creation of man into the image of God. 

Both the tabernacle and the new creature are the temple of presence of the Lord. It is His presence that brings the Garden of Eden into the world. He enters creation first through Israel and ends His journey in the heart of man. It is the second Son of God, Jesus, that makes this possible. He is the beginning and the end. 

We Must Choose

Faith is not possible without choice. We have no choice for salvation except through faith. We must choose. 

A New Heaven And A New Earth - Isaiah 65:17-18

Isaiah 65:17-18 ESV 

“For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

Revelation 21:1

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

The new heaven and earth represent the creation of man into the image of Christ. 

Revelation 21:2-3

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

The new Jerusalem coming down from heaven is the Bride of Christ. This is the dwelling place of God because He is with us. 

Becoming

Adam ate the forbidden fruit to become like God. He did not. We have eaten from the tree of life which brings forth the fruit of that tree in our lives as we are being made in the image of God. That was His plan all along.

I Will Bring Them - Zechariah 8:7-8

Zechariah 8:7-8 ESV 

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

They now dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Dispersed almost 2,000 years ago, Israel has defied the odds and all logic to exist as a nation once more. God said He would do this before He returns. Many won’t be expecting that either. 

Offered Him Gifts - Matthew 2:10-12

Matthew 2:10-12 ESV 

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

The wise men were bringing the incense and gold because Jesus had come to hang on the tree of the cross as a burnt offering to God. He would provide a savory aroma to God above and enter the cloud filling the Holy of Holies. He would ascend into the clouds to enter heaven when His work was done. 

The gifts were signifying and acknowledging His role in our appeal to God for the salvation of mankind. Jesus would provide another way to God, the only way. 

Exodus 30:1-3 ESV 

“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it.

Through A Revelation - Galatians 1:11-12

Galatians 1:11-12 ESV 

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

The gospel comes and has effect through revelation, of Jesus and by Jesus. We may hear the gospel through others, but we receive the gospel through Christ. He calls us and speaks to each of us through the Holy Spirit. 

The word is God. It is spoken and becomes the light of the world. It is His Son. It is written. When one speaks the written word and when one hears it, they are blessed. Jesus is the spoken word and the one speaking is God the Father. 

It comes as a revelation. The Spirit of God makes this possible. 

The Former Things - Isaiah 65:17-18

Isaiah 65:17-18 ESV 

“For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

This Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ that descends from heaven. We are born from above. We will be the joy and gladness which come from the life of Christ. Our old existence will fade as the darkness of night gives way to the break of day that shall never end. 

Our former lives will be remembered no more or come to mind. The sun will never set on that new day. 

From Above

Just as Jesus went from the Son of Man to become the cornerstone of the new temple, we will go from the sons of men to becoming the stones of the new temple. The temple is built without hands and is fashioned from above. 

In A Thick Cloud - Exodus 19:9

Exodus 19:9 ESV 

And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” ...

“A thick cloud” is associated with the  “2. The nom. עָנָן is most frequent in figures of speech or metaphors for transitoriness, immensity, and impenetrability.” (NIDOTTE) 

The mystery of God is just that. A mystery. We could only see signs of His presence until He revealed Himself as the Son of Man. 

When Jesus returns, He will be coming with the clouds. They signify and confirm that He is God and He will reveal Himself as the King of Kings. When He returns it will be forever. 

Our Answer

With faith is the only way we can respond to the one who is faithful. It is our answer to his question. 

On Eagles’ Wings - Exodus 19:4

Exodus 19:4 ESV

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

The phrase “on eagles’ wings” implies an action of God and His providence. He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and to Himself. They would find God in the wilderness. He led the way. He has always been the way. 

In the beginning He hovered over the darkness of the waters before His light would enter our world. One might see a connection between that hovering Spirit in Genesis and the eagles’ wings here in Exodus. 

The freeing of the Israelites is only a chapter in the separation of light and darkness taking place in creation, of the revelation of the light. 

A Day’s Portion - Exodus 16:4-5

Exodus 16:4-5 ESV 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

And so bread rained from heaven each day to feed the Israelites as they journeyed in the wilderness. God would test and teach them obedience and to look to Him for their needs. 

The Lord does the same with the body of Christ. Jesus taught us to pray for our “daily bread.” We learn to depend on Him as we travel our own wilderness journey. We walk, not in the law, but led by the Spirit and His word. We are on our way, but walk we must. 

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread,

The Fast I Choose - Isaiah 58:6-7

Isaiah 58:6-7 ESV 

“Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

The true fast of the Lord is to forgo the food of the world for the bread of heaven and the living waters that flow from above. To live in the fullness of the Spirit imparts a transformation of your mind. This is learning obedience to the Lord. Transform the mind and the body will follow. This will bring us to our destination. 

Obedience is not a onetime event, but walking with God. The transformation of the body will be a onetime event that will begin with the sounding of the trumpet of the Lord. 

Breathed Out - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

It is the Holy Spirit who gave us Scripture and it is the Holy Spirit who brings life to the words, even as He brings life to these vessels of flesh. He guides us into all truth, for He is the truth. 

It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into the complete image of God and equips us for every good work. Let us keep on task and walk the walk. 

Predestined - Romans 8:30

Romans 8:30 

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

We are predestined to be made in the image of God. 

The predestined are all those who have ears and will listen to what the Spirit says. That includes everyone. This destiny is for all who would go there. 

This verse spans the entirety of the creation story. Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world, meaning that it was always God’s plan for us to be made in the image of Christ. It begins when we enter the body of Christ. He has entered us through the Holy Spirit. In this way we have become the Bride of Christ. 

This is the plan of God for our lives: that we will become part of His life. We will be glorified by Him and the blessings of heaven will be ours. 

Ephesians 1:3-5

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

1 Peter 1:20-21

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

I Am - Exodus 3:13-14

Exodus 3:13-14 ESV 

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

“I am who I am.”

Jesus clarifies with the following:

 John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

For He and the Father are one.