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"Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which will be hereafter."                              Revelation 1v19

John now receives his commission directly from the Lord.   He is told to write three things:

• "The things which thou hast seen"           This refers to the past and most probably the vision of Revelation chapter 1.  
• "The things which are"                             referring to the present and describes the present period of the church.
• "The things which shall be hereafter"     This refers to the future events to come after the church age.

There is no doubt that this three fold commission to write is a Divine sub division of the entire book commencing at ch.1v4 through ch. 22v5   The first refers to the vision of Christ as revealed in chapter 1v4-18.   The second refers to the church age, details of which are in chapters 2&3.   The third of these has to do with future events after the church age and continues from chapter 4v1 and continues to chapter 22v5.   There is no doubt that there is indicated a dispensational change in the structure of the book.   While there are many references to the churches up to and including chapter 3v22, there is no mention of the church or the churches after that until we come to chapter 19v7 where we read of the marriage of the Lamb and "His wife hath made herself ready."   So at the end of Revelation chapter 3 the church, the bride of Christ is seen on earth, yet in chapter 19 she is seen in heaven.   Something epoch-making has happened to remove the remnant of the church to heaven, such that she is fully formed and is ready for the marriage of the Lamb.   She has been removed from the earth in what other parts of the New Testament describe as "the harpazo" or better known as  the"rapture" of the church.   This word can be found from the New Testament references of  "caught up" .   Furthermore in chapter 4v1 there is clearly a reference to this and to a dispensational change when it says "come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter."

By the word "dispensation" we mean how God is ordering His administration of the universe in any given time period.   He does not change His timeless principles, but He deals with the world at times in different ways.   His present stewardship or administration of the world is one of grace.   This much is made clear in many places notably Hebrews 4v16 where He says that in the present day the throne of heaven is a throne of grace.    That is, the primary dealings God has with the world is in grace and not in judgement.    However when we come to revelation chapter 4 onwards there is no doubt there is a change in the character of the throne of heaven.   Let us look at the verses concerning God's rule on earth after the church age.   We will tabulate the verses and then make a little comment on them.

• Revelation 4v5          "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices."
• Revelation 8v5          "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar and cast it into the earth; and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake."
• Revelation 11v19       "And the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail."
• Revelation 16v17-21   "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.   And there were voices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great.   And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.   And every island fled away and the mountains were not found.   And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talent. (120lbs)."

There are some things to observe here.  Firstly,  this is no longer the language of grace, the throne is now one of in judgment.   Secondly, it is a picture of judgment of increasing intensity, because each time this language is used, as quoted above, another dimension is added.   Thirdly, the God of grace who today dispenses grace to the world will dispense wrath and become directly involved in the affairs of this world. This wrath is described as "fierce"  

The day of grace is still upon us.   The sunshine of God's grace floods the world.   From Revelation chapter 4 onwards the day of grace is over, and the day of vengeance begins.   This is the message of the book of Revelation.

"O sinner seek His grace, whose wrath thou canst not bear,

Flee to the shelter of the cross, and find salvation there".

The expression "the wrath of the Lamb" (chapter 6v16) perfectly describes the stark contrast of the two dispensations.     The Lamb who died to save the world will one day crush the world who rejected His grace.

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"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 forever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."    Revelation 1v17-18

John was astonished at the breathtaking sight which was before him.   This was the One who had accompanied him for more than three years.    John had even the privilege of catching a glimpse of His glory on the mount of transfiguration, but he had never seen anything like this!   The sight was so awesome he immediately fell at His feet.   Such a sight brought consternation to the heart of John as the awesome glory of heaven stood before him.   Jesus reached out His right hand and said  " fear not."   He proceeds to give four reasons why John should not be afraid and each of these should be a comfort to all believers in every situation.

• "I am the first and the last"           This speaks of His Deity.   Only God can say this.   The title belongs alone to Jehovah God in the Old Testament  (Isaiah 41v4; 44v6; 48v12).   it is now claimed by Christ as a man. He is distinct from God, but He is truly God.   He is the first and last in creation; He is the first and last in the generations of men; He is the first and last in connection with Israel; He is at the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms; He is the author and finisher of faith.   For those who are afraid of the unknown and the unseen He is at the beginning of our lives and He will be at the end.   According to the Jewish rabbis understanding of this title, it means "the whole of anything from beginning to end."   (Although the rabbis refused to apply this to Christ).   For the first time a man has seen God in all His glory. 
• "I am He that liveth"                      Literally, I am the ever living One and this speaks of His immortality.   He lives in a continuous present.   He is timeless; only God can claim this; He is eternal.   He is the essence of all existing life;  John 1v4   "In Him was life."   He gives us an insight into this in John 5v26   "For as the Father hath life in Himself so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself."   People today are searching for the meaning of life, for the secrets of the universe, we have it here before us; He is the originator and sustainer of all physical life (all plants, all animals, and all human beings.   He is the source of all spiritual life (spirit beings, and also the spiritual life imparted to all believers).   He defines life as knowing God (John 17v2-3).   Eternal life is not just living forever, it is not merely the duration of life, it is the quality of life and that He defines as knowing God.   He said to His disciples in John 14v6  "I am .......the Life."  
• "I was dead and behold I am alive forever more, Amen"          This is now His victory, He entered into death, He passed through death, He rose from the dead and is alive forever more.   Unlike every other human being He did not die; He became dead.   He laid down His life.   He said in John 10v17-18  "I lay down My life that I might take it again.   No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself, I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again.   This commandment have I received of My Father."   When He was on the cross He did not die because of the physical extremities, nor because of the despair of life in this world.   Four times over it says "He gave up His spirit" in a deliberate act of subjection to death in order to pass through what we would pass through.   A reading of Matthew 27v50; Mark 15v37; Luke 23v46; and John 19v30 makes it clear that Jesus commanded not only the fact of His own death but the timing of it.   Thus Jesus reminds John that the very One who stood before Him in glorious apparel was the same one who loved him enough to die for him.   The contrast between the majesty of the One who stood before him and the memory of that awful death could not be more vivid.  
• "I have the keys of hell and of death"          This now speaks of His sovereignty .   It is as if Jesus is saying to John I am in control not only of what you can see but of what you cannot see.   I am in control of not only this world but of the unseen world.   The keys simply represent that which can open and shut doors and the key holder has the power of control in the sphere.  A reading of Isaiah 22v20-25 will illustrate this perfectly.   By hell He means the place of departed spirits.   By death He means the instrument by which we pass to the other world.   This strange unknown and unknowable world is under the control of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.   Later in the book of Revelation we read of the angels opening what is called the  "bottomless pit" or the "abyss," firstly,  to release demonic spirits who have been imprisoned there for centuries, and secondly, to bind Satan and the rest of the demons in that same prison.   This is not the same as "hades" or "hell" as spoken here, this is the dwelling place of demon spirits, whereas "hell" is the dwelling place of human spirits.   We cannot go too deeply into this for now; suffice to say that whether it be demon spirits in the abyss or human spirits in hell, Jesus has the keys and will open and shut at will.   He also has the keys of death, the means by which we enter the other world.  

The message to John is loud and clear "fear not John" there is no unbridled evil at work in this universe.   There is evil, there will be evil but it is all under My control and John and all believers alongside him should rest on this, that when evil raises its ugly head it will be subject to the sovereign control of Christ.  

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• The majesty of His presence:   "and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength"  Revelation 1v16.

The brilliance of the countenance of Christ. This is what is known as the "appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."   Ezekiel 1v28     Clearly when Jesus was here He veiled His glory from the world around Him, but now He appears in His natural heavenly mode.   There is little doubt that those who dwell in the presence of God reflect in their outward appearance the glory of God.   The man Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai  with the Lord.   In Exodus 34v35  " The children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses shone."    So bright was his appearance that he had to put a veil over his face    Paul refers to this in 2nd Corinthians 3v7   "The children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance."   We are given a small window into the appearance of those who dwell in heaven in Matthew 28v2-3   "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 as lightning and His raiment as white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men."

The disciples,  Peter, James and John caught a glimpse of this glorious appearance on the mount of transfiguration.   Those who saw this never forgot it and Peter records of this occasion in 2nd Peter 1v16-18    "We were eye witnesses of His majesty, for He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, "this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased".   And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with Him in the holy mount."     The gospel records reveal that Jesus body was transfigured, that is, changed from its ordinary earthly human appearance into the actual appearance of the glory of heaven.   Matthew record in chapter 17v2  " His face did shine as the sun."   Luke records in chapter 9v29  " As He prayed the fashion of His countenance was altered and His raiment was white and glistening.

The apostle Paul saw a similar thing as he was journeying on the Damascus road.   Three times in the book of the Acts it is recorded concerning this glorious appearance of Jesus Christ.  

• Acts 9v3          "And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined roundabout him a light from heaven."
• Acts 22v6        "About noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light roundabout me."
• Acts 26v13      "At midday oh king I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining roundabout me and them which journeyed with me.   And when we were all fallen to the earth I heard a voice speaking."

It seemed that each time this story was told, his recollection of it became more vivid.   He starts with a light from heaven, then it was a great light from heaven, then it was a light above the brightness of the sun.   Such was the brightness of the appearance of Jesus Christ to Paul on the Damascus road that he was blinded for several days and he would never forget what he saw, and his whole life was devoted to helping us understand the reality of what he saw.  

Facial expression tells a lot.   The bible speaks of a countenance which has fallen  (Genesis 4v6);   a countenance not toward Jacob as before  (Genesis 31v2);   a nation of fierce countenance (Deuteronomy 28v56)a beautiful countenance (1st Samuel 16v12); a sad countenance (Nehemiah 2v2); a cheerful countenance  (Proverbs 15v13); an angry countenance (Proverbs 25v23).   The countenance of Jesus Christ is of the glory of God, of the glory of heaven where God dwells.   He came amongst us veiled in a human body of flesh.   He lives today in the full expression of that glory, a Man in heaven.   This is a spectacular vision of Christ.   this is Him as He is now; no longer the rejected, lowly peasant preacher, but now in full orb glorious appearance.   In this vision we have been brought face to face with His dignity, His equity, His purity, His perspicacity, His victory, His authority, His sovereignty, His intensity and finally His majesty.   Each one of those facets of His being should become the food of the people of God.   On the contrary it should bring fear into the hearts of the unbeliever.      This vision which John saw will be seen by every living being who has ever lived either for good or bad.   Make sure it is for good!

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• The sharp edge of His tongue:       "Out of His mouth goeth a sharp two-edged sword."    Revelation 1v16

There are two words for "Sword" in the book of Revelation; there is the short Roman sword designed for close combat in warfare; the other is the long broad sword used by the Thracians and other barbarians in the course of brutal warfare.   It is the latter of these words which is spoken of here and represents the irresistible authority and devastating force of our Lord's judgement.   He is depicted as the warrior judge!    Revelation 19v15      "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."   The overbearing and overriding spoken word of the Lord Christ will devastate all opposition.   The unbelievable power of His word was seen at creation when He spoke the universe into being.   By His word alone, all that we know was brought into being; by His word alone all enemies will be crushed.

In John12v48 He told the people of His day  "He that rejecteth Me and receiveth not My words hath One that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, that same shall judge him in the last day."   We really do need to take on board the solemnity of this.   Whether we are unbelievers or believers, whether we are preachers or teachers, we have in our hands the living word of the living Christ which shall judge us in the last day.   His word alone becomes the instrument of judgement, and of war, and of eternal damnation.   Revelation 19 it says that He will come with  "the armies of heaven."   he will not need any one of those armies.   His word alone will be enough.   The world talks with fear about  "the battle of Armageddon"  as if there is going to be some kind of conquest.   There will be no such battle as such; the word of the warrior Christ will crush all opposition.   Back in Old Testament times when the nation of Judea was under threat of extinction from the Assyrian army, one angel, in one night, obliterated an army of 185,000 soldiers, leaving none alive (2nd Kings 19v35).    The Lord of the host of heaven's angels will need no help against the puny forces of man who will dare to lift his fist against the Almighty.

Those of us who refuse to be charmed by His love as demonstrated at Calvary, should be brought low in our spirits by fear of His mighty destruction of all who oppose the living God.   It is little wonder that in view of such a crushing devastation of the world in opposition to God, that it is recorded in Revelation 8v1  "there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour."    We observe a one minute silence in respect for those who have died.   heaven will hold a thirty minute silence, before the outpouring of such judgement.   There is no pleasure in heaven at the misery of human beings, but sin must be expunged from the universe.

The Christ of the gospels is only half the story.   The Christ of the Revelation completes the picture in which all human beings are involved.   The Man of Calvary has become the Judge of all the earth.   the One who died to save you, will banish you forever who spurned His grace.   The issues are serious,  the outcome is sure.   His word is powerful and devastating.   The final picture is of the Christ of God bestriding the universe and in the words of the apostle Paul  "Taking vengeance on them which no not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."  (2nd Thessalonians 1v8).   This fact is prophesied by Isaiah 63v1-4 in a dialogue between Divine beings  " Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?   This that is glorious in His apparel  travelling in the greatness of His strength?   I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.   Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel, and Thy garments like Him that treadeth in the winefat ?   I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me: for I will tread them in Mine anger and shall trample them in My fury: and their blood shall be sprinkled upon My garments, and I will stain all My raiment.   For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." 

What we do with this One will determine our eternal destiny.

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• His sovereignty over all luminaries:   "and He had in His right hand seven stars"   Revelation 1v16.

The world has an expression  "right hand man."   The man Jesus Christ, now exalted in heaven is God's right hand man.   The right hand in scripture is the symbol of power and authority.   The first mention of this is in Genesis 48v14, where Jacob, as the ruling patriarch, placed his right hand on the head of the younger grandson Ephraim, thus conferring upon him the leadership of the tribe.   The references in the New Testament to Jesus being on the right hand of God are numerous: Matthew 22v44:  Matthew 26v64: Acts 2v33: Acts 7v55: Colossians 3v1: Hebrews 8v1: Hebrews 10v12: Hebrews 12v2. etc.  

The stars which He holds in His right hand are interpreted in Revelation 1v20 as angels.   The word angel can mean "messenger" and probably means the human agency which brings the message(in symbolic terms the light givers);  the Lord Jesus Christ, now exalted, holds them all in His hand.     In chapter 2v1 it is written  "He holdeth the seven stars which are the angels of the seven churches."   The word for "holdeth" is a strong word (krateo) meaning to hold in a firm grip.   Sometimes the word is used in the sense of co-ercion, sometimes in the sense of control, and commission.   What John saw was one in complete control over those who speak the message.  The "angel of the church could refer to the body of elders or the body of teachers, those who bring the light of the truth of God to the church and who are responsible to the Head who is in overall control.

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• The authority of His voice silencing all others        "His voice was as the sound of many waters."    Revelation 1v15

The apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians observed that there are many kinds of voices in the  world and none of them without significance; but there is one voice above all others that will drown out the garbled voices of men .   For many thousands of years the voice of Jesus Christ has been silent in this earth.   He came briefly to tell us the truth of God; He gave His life to save the human race; His voice will not remain silent for ever, and all shall hear it above all other voices upon the earth.   Even the dead shall hear it "the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation."   John 5v28   Stand at the base of the Niagara Falls and try speaking to someone and your voice will be drowned out.   In a very real way this will happen to all of us when  "every mouth will be stopped. "    Romans 3v19    Psalm 29v3 says  " the voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth; the Lord is upon many waters.   The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty."   The vision of Ezekiel the prophet in chapter 43v2 says  "And behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and His voice was like a noise"    of many waters.   Hebrews chapter 12v26 describes it perfectly  "Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He hath promised saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven."   Revelation 14v2   "And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and the voice of great thunder."    Revelation 19v6  "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of many thunderings, saying Alleluia for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth."

It is the roar of battle, the mighty authority of the Lord taking visible control of the earth.   The voice that was silent before His tormentors at the cross, will be heard above every other voice in the great day of His glory.   The prophet Amos said in chapter 1v2   " The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem."   That voice in all its authority will silence every other voice.   Readers should look at 2nd Samuel 2 v 8-16.     A quote from the beginning and end of it will suffice  " then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook because He was wroth...... the Lord thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered His voice ......."   Isaiah the prophet envisaged such a day  (chapter 41v1)  " keep silence before Me oh  islands; and let the people renew their strength; let them come near; then let them speak, let us come near to judgement."  

Job, the man who knew the heavy hand of God upon him said these words  "Hast thou an arm like God?   or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him?"   The Psalmist David adds his voice to all the prophecies  " the Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the highest gave His voice; hailstones and coals of fire.  Yea, He sent out His arrows and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings and discomfited them.    Then the channels of water were seen and the foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke oh Lord, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils."   Psalm 18v13-15.   Again in the Psalms 46v6  "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted."  

We do well today to hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit bringing us to salvation in Christ; rather than being exposed to the wrath of the One whose voice will drown out all others. 

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• The all-conquering subjugation of His power:   "..and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace".   Revelation 1v15.

The usage of brass or bronze/copper in the bible is symbolic of divine judgement.  The well known scripture  " And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron" is metaphoric for extreme divine judgement on people.   Deuteronomy 28v23   The altar of sacrifice both in the tabernacle and the temple was made of brass.   This depicts divine judgment upon sin, because the fire was never to be extinquished.   The laver before the holy place was also made of brass, and is symbolic of self judgement, since no priest could enter the holy place without washing at the laver.  

The "feet" in scripture have to do with authority.   The expression  "under His feet " speaks of the absolute authority given to man  (Psalm 8v6) at the beginning of creation.   The writer to the Hebrews quotes this Psalm in chapter 2 v5-8 saying   "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet: for in that He put all in subjection to Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him."   The writer applies this to Christ who will fulfill what Adam lost because of sin.   So the picture here is of one with absolute authority and power exercising judgement on the world.

All matters concerning the earth are even now under the control of Jesus Christ.    Psalm 47 predicts this  " for the Lord most high is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth.   He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet."   The dominion of the earth has been passed to Christ  "when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.   For He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet."   1st Corinthians 15v24-25    The feet of Christ are burning, they are active in judgement.    Not only can he see all things, but He can change all things.   His judgement on the church (chapters 2-3), and in the world (chapters 6-19) is live.   Where necessary He will act and nothing will oppose Him.   This was prophesied by Daniel in chapter 10v6  "His face was as the appearance of lightening, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His arms and His feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of His words liker the voice of a multitude."

• Concerning the churches     -     Those feet are walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.    He commends, He controls, He commands, and where necessary He condemns.  Revelation 2v5  " Repent or I will remove the lampstand."   Revelation 2v21  " He says to the people at Thyatira that He would bring into their midst illness, tribulation, and even death, if they did not mend their ways. 
• Concerning the world at large     -     Revelation 6v8  "The fourth part of the earth were slain.   Chapter 9v15   "The third part of the earth were slain."     Chapter 19v20   The world rulers  "the beast and the false prophet" were banished to eternal doom.   Chapter 20v10  Satan and all his followers were banished,   Chapter 20v12-15   All the unregenerate dead banished.  

The apostle Peter sounded a warning to all false teachers who were serving themselves and not the Lord  "Whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."  2nd Peter 2v3.

The picture here is of feet of bronze burning; not only the One who took upon Himself the fires of divine judgement, but the One who will mete it out to all those who reject God's mercy.

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• The searing perception of His vision    "and His eyes are like a flaming fire"  Revelation 1v14.

In contrast to His own whiter than white perfection, those piercing, all- seeing eyes, when focused on flawed human beings, not only expose evil but condemn it.   The bible uses pictures to illustrate its truth, and the government of God in this world is described as being "eagle eyed"  (Ezekiel chapter 1, and Revelation chapter 4).   Those magnificent creatures who can soar to a height of 2,400 feet, and have peripheral vision of 340 degrees (the human equivalent is 180) and can see something as small as a rabbit from three miles away.   Also they can take in five colours at once whereas we can only take in three.   This supreme example from nature of perfect vision is used to describe the perceptive vision of the One who is judge of all the earth.   In Revelation 4v6 the living creatures are said to be  "full of eyes before and behind."   In chapter 5v6 the Lamb is said to have  " seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth."   From these eyes there is no hiding place.

Proverbs 15v3  "The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good."   Hebrews 4v13   No creature escapes His eyes  "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."   Psalm 139 v 1-5   A summary would go something like this;  He knows us all, He searches us all, He knows all our movements, even to the smallest detail, He knows our thoughts before we think them and He knows all our habits and our ways.   He knows every word in our tongues, He knows our past, He knows our future.   His controlling hand is on our present.  

In the gospel of John, the gospel symbolized by the eagle, we learn the all seeing perception of Jesus Christ.

• Chapter 1 v 42        He knew Peter's future
• Chapter 1 v 47        He knew Nathaniel's past and He knew his present.
• Chapter 2 v 24-25     He knew the hypocrisy of the people following Him.  He knew most of them were not real.
• Chapter 3 v 10       He knew the status of Nicodemus and what was keeping him from salvation
• Chapter 4 v 1         He knew what the Pharisees had heard, without them uttering a word.
• Chapter 4 v 16       He knew all about the Samaritan woman.
• Chapter 6 v 64       He knew his disciples were murmuring together.  etc. etc. 

He knows all things about all men.   As Judge He requires no witnesses.   Isaiah chapter 40 v 13-14   "Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor hath taught Him?   With whom took He counsel and who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgement, and taught Him knowledge and showed to Him the way of understanding?"  

Those all searching eyes are said to be  "like flames of fire."   Fire in scripture invariably speaks of divine judgement (read the judgements on eight nations in Amos chapters 1 & 2).   He casts His penetrating eyes upon our lives.   This process is in place now and will continue until He has expunged the universe of all sin, and His perfect vision can see no more sin.   This characteristic of the Lord Jesus will not be a popular one, as we all love to think of Him as our loving Saviour and friend.   However we must take both sides of the coin and a simple reading of the following scriptures will make it clear that He is at this very moment in time, and will continue to do, trying the hearts of all men.     Psalm 7v9;  Proverbs 17v3;  1st Thessalonians 2v4;  Revelation 2v18;  Revelation 2v23;  Romans 8v27;  and 1st Chronicles 28v9.   All of these say more or less the same thing and a quotation from Proverbs 17v3 will suffice  "The fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts."

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• The impeccability of His character      " His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow."         Revelation 1v14

The word  "impeccability "  comes from the process of removing someone from high office due to corruption.   What is being said here of Christ is that He is unimpeachable.   No one will ever be able to remove Him from office, the office of Judge of all the earth.   I believe that the expression  "white as wool, as white as snow " is not so much the idea of maturity or eternality  (such as the Ancient of days of Daniel's prophecy); rather it has to do with the absolute purity of His entire existence such that no one can point the finger.   This expression corresponds to Isaiah 1 v 18  "Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."   What is in view here is the sinless purity of Jesus Christ as He administers the office of Judge.   Let us now consider the testimony of some who witnessed His life and death, and who gave an unbiased view of Him.  

• The angels       At His birth  "that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."            Luke 1v35
• The demons     In His life  "Jesus of Nazareth, art Thou come to destroy us?   We know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God."        Mark 1 v 24 (and others)
• God                  At the beginning of His public ministry  "this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."        Matthew 3 v 17
• Pontius Pilate    At his trial  "I am innocent of the blood of this just person."   Matthew 27v24 
• The malefactor on the cross beside Him        "We indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss."         Luke 23 v 41  
• The Roman centurion       After his death   "truly this was the Son of God."   Matthew 27v54
• The apostle Paul               "He knew no sin."   2nd Corinthians 5 v 1
• The apostle Peter              "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.  1st Peter 2 v 22
• The apostle John                "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin."      1st John 3 v 5

He is the sinless impeccable Christ of God.   He said of Himself  as He neared the end of His life on earth  " The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me."         John 14 v 30   No other human being since the creation of Adam until the end of time can ever say something like that.   Not one thing could He be accused of by the arch accuser of men.   No other person has the right to be the judge of the world.   He is in the language of scripture  "white like wool. "   In the language of the modern world He is  "pure as the driven snow."   He is established as the judge of all men and no one will ever be able to remove Him.   His utter purity and sinlessness are without question.   For more than thirty years he walked through this sinful world and was uncontaminated by its toxic atmosphere

The hymn writer Wylie McCleod has perfectly captured the thought:

"A perfect path of purest grace,
Unblemished and complete,
Was Thine, Thou spotless Nazarite,
Pure, even to the feet.
Thy stainless life, Thy lovely walk,
In every aspect true,
From the defilement all around,
No taint of evil drew.
No broken service, Lord was Thine,
No change was in Thy way;
Unsullied in Thy holiness,
Thy strength knew no decay.
The vow was on Thee—Thou didst come,
To yield Thyself to death;
And consecration marked Thy path,
And spoke in every breath.
Morning by morning Thou didst wake,
Amidst this poisoned air;
Yet no contagion touched Thy soul,
No sin disturbed Thy prayer.
Thus, Lord we love to trace Thy course,
To mark where Thou hast trod,
And follow Thee with loving eye,
Up to the throne of God."

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 022

• The righteousness of His judgments:  "girt about the paps with a golden girdle" chapter1v13.

The imagery is very graphic: here we have a judge with a heart!    The "paps" refer to women's breasts in the role of feeding an infant (Psalm 22v29;  Luke 11v27; 23v29.)    This is the most tender and loving occupation on earth, the nurture of a newborn.    There is no doubt that Jesus love for people surpasses all human love.

• His love for Israel           (Deuteronomy 7v7-10; Jeremiah 31v3)   "I have loved you with an everlasting love."
• His love for the church   (Ephesians 5v25) " Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it."
• His love for the world     (John 3v16)   "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."

There is no one outside the scope of the love of Christ; indeed He is love, He is the essence of love, He is the fount from which all streams of love flow.   His love is superior to all human love (Romans 5 v 6-8).   His love knows no measurements (Ephesians 3v18)  "The breadth and length and depth of the love of Christ unknowable".

So surely none of us has anything to fear from such an One as this.   Surely His love will overcome everything else.   Surely the One who forgave, and taught forgiveness to all His followers will not punish anyone.   Surely a God of love will not banish people into hell.   Yes He will, and He must, because His love is not a soppy, sentimental, emotional kind of love, turning a blind eye to peoples' sins.   Absolutely NO!   His love is restrained with a golden girdle.   His love to man is only superceded by His love to God.   His expression of love to human beings is based on Divine righteousness.   The teaching of Matthew chapter 22 is very clear.   A lawyer, trying to trick Him asked Him a question  "Master which is the great commandment in the law? "   Jesus said unto him  "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.  

This is the first and great commandment."   Jesus went on to say  "the second is like unto it  " thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself".   On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Notice the order;  love God, love man.   These two cannot be separated, but the first takes precedence  "love God."    Jesus love to His Father God is His primary consideration and only when the demands of God are met in justice, can the love of God flow to sinful man    Would a mother feed her baby poison?   Neither will God offer toxic love to people.   Sin, the offending sin, must be removed ; only then can He show His love.   Jesus tender love and compassion for all was restrained, and is restrained by the primary consideration of Divine justice.

A few examples will suffice.   In John 11v5 it says  " Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

However He held back rushing to their side because of the glory of God.   In Mark 10 v 20-22, Jesus dealt with a sincere young man who came running to Him and asking  "what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"   In verse 21 it says  " Jesus beholding him loved him" ; however that love for the young man did not prevent Him telling him he must sell all his possessions because they had become a god in his life.    True love does not hide from obvious faults and Jesus knows them all.   In Hebrews chapter 12 there is a very strange  "love statement."   there it says in verse 6  "for whom the Lord loveth  He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."   What kind of love is this?   The answer is clear in verse 10  "He for our profit that we might be partakers of His holiness."   God's love toward us is tempered by His hatred of sin knowing that sin is a destructive force in our lives.   A mother only feeds her baby with that which will bring health; so with God, and the writer goes on to say  "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness."

The One who sits on the throne, will exercise judgement upon all on the basis of Divine righteousness behind which a true heart of love for all of us. Only when Divine justice is satisfied can Divine mercy flow. 

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 021

• The dignity of His office   "clothed with a garment down to His foot."   Revelation 1v13

It is not a very popular subject, and therefore it is not discussed as it should be, but it is a major teaching of New Testament revelation.   All judgment concerning this universe has been given to Jesus Christ.   Mostly people think of Him as Saviour of men, not the Judge of men.   He is the same meek and mild Jesus who taught unlimited forgiveness, and who cried on the cross in the face of human treachery  " Father forgive them for they know not what they do."   This is how the world at large wants to think of Him.   They do not consider Him to be judgmental, far less the Judge of the whole world.   Yet it is absolutely true as the following scriptures will confirm, that this is the high office that was prophesied of Him and according to the vision is now a fact.   This is not something that is future only; this is His status right now.  

• John 5 v 22                  "The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgement to the Son:  that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.   He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which has sent Him."
• Acts 10 v 42                 "And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of living and dead."
• Acts 17v30-31              "God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead."
• Romans 2 v 16              ".....in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
• 2nd Timothy 4v1          "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word."
• Jude verses 14-15         "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgement upon all."
• Revelation 19 v 11        "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge and make war." 
• Revelation 20v11-12     "And I saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.   And I saw the dead small and great stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the book, according to their works."

Clearly the Man of Calvary is now the Judge of all the earth.   The apostle Peter in his first epistle chapter 4v17 points out  "for the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?   And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?"   This is in line with the teaching of the book of the Revelation, which presents Christ as Judge in the church before He acts as Judge in the world at large.    The judgement upon His believing people is not of a penal and eternal nature; rather is it a refining process to bring them to eventual practical sanctification.   The prophet Jeremiah sheds further light on this in chapter 25 v 29  " For lo I begin to bring evil to the city which is called by my name and should ye (my people) be utterly unpunished?    Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts."   What the Lord is saying here is that he views sin in His people in the same light as He views it in the unbelieving world at large.   Although in Christ we are judicially freed from sin and no eternal judgement will ensue, nevertheless the Lord will visit His people over the matter of their sins.   This much is plain across the biblical spectrum.   It is a solemn teaching, but in the matter of sin God is no respecter of persons and we will all suffer the consequences.   This calls for believers (as encouraged by Peter) to be very careful as to how we live on earth as Christians.   "And if ye call Him Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." 1 Peter 1v17; It is a matter of some concern today that many of God's people seem to have lost a sense of the fear of the Lord, but we can be sure He is dealing with it.

        

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 020

"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 two-edged sword; and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength".   Revelation 1v13-17.

What John saw was glorified humanity, destined for universal dominion.   There now follows a nine fold description of the One whom John had only known before as the babe of Bethlehem,  the peasant preacher from Nazareth, and the rejected Christ.   Now He is no longer in humiliation, but in exaltation, in supreme splendour.   The opening observation "clothed with a garment down to the foot" gives us a clue as to the meaning of "the vision."   A full length robe was only worn by dignitaries such as kings, priests, prophets, and judges.   The context must decide to which of these it refers.   A reading of the details of the vision, and also of the rest of the book of Revelation, makes it clear that what is in view is Christ as the judge of all the earth.

We focus firstly on the trend of the book.
In chapters 2 - 3 He is the Judge of the church.
In chapters 4 - 16  He is the Judge of the whole earth.
In chapters 17 - 18  He is the Judge of the spurious Babylonian system of religion and commerce.
In chapter 19  He is the Judge of all world rulers.
In chapter 20  He is the Judge of Satan and his demons.
In chapter 20 again He is the Judge of all during the millennial kingdom.
Again in chapter 20  He is the Judge of all the unregenerate dead.

When we read the book of Revelation from that viewpoint, the whole story with its solemn imagery begins to make sense.  There now follows nine details of the One who will bring everyone into judgement at the end of time.  

• His dignity- the dignity of His office.     "Clothed with a garment down to the foot."
• His equity-  the righteousness of His judgements.     "Girt about the paps with a golden girdle."
• His purity-  the impeccability of His character.    " His head and His hairs were white as wool, as white as snow."
• His perspicacity-the searing perception of His vision.     " Eyes like a flame of fire."
• His victory- the all conquering subjugation of His power.     "His feet as fine brass as if they burned in a furnace."
• His authority-the awesome noise of His voice silencing all others.     "His voice as the sound of many waters."
• His sovereignty-His sovereignty control over all light bearers   "In His right hand He holds the seven stars."
• His intensity-the sharp edge of His tongue, countermanding all human arguments.     "Out of His mouth went a two-edged sword."
• His majesty-the majesty of His presence, eclipsing all lesser lights.     "His countenance was as the sun shines in his strength."

Each of the above need to be expounded in turn, but, together they present a picture of  supreme and perfect judgement.   Unfathomable knowledge, with unlimited experience, and absolute power all combine in the One who is to be the Judge of all the earth.   Jesus Christ is Lord; He is the Judge with absolute authority, who cannot be gainsaid, who cannot be deceived, before whom there is no appeal, and whose judgements are perfect and final.  

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 019

"And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of man.........."  Revelation 1v13.

John now focuses on the One in the midst of the golden lampstands; He is said to be " One like unto the Son of Man."   This title occurs over eighty times in the four gospels and only four times outside of the four gospels.   This title refers to Jesus humanity, as opposed to His Deity.   He identifies Himself as "the Son of Man " in Matthew 16v13;  "Whom do men say that I am the Son of Man am?"   In Acts 7 v 55-56  the martyr Stephen proclaimed just at the point of his death  "I saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."    So the same Son of Man who was on earth is now in heaven.   The meaning of this title, however, has greater implications.   A study of the occurrences of this title, particularly the first mention in Daniel 7v13 - 14 reveals the meaning to be not just humanity, but humanity in dominion on the earth!   Way back in Genesis 1v26, God gave dominion of the earth to the first man.   This status is confirmed in Psalm 8 and also in Psalm 115; verse 16 of the last mentioned says this  "The heaven, even the heavens are the Lord's; but the earth hath He given to the children of men."   Despite the entrance of sin and the curse upon the earth, this offer of dominion stands, since God never changes his promises.   In Hebrews 2 v 5 - 9 the writer tells us how this will happen.   Not to angels, but to man is dominion on the earth.   How will this happen?   Jesus, the Son of Man will reign supreme on the earth with all in subjection to Him.   Now in Revelation chapter 1, John sees the One he had known on earth, not only as Man, but Man destined for world dominion.   

So we must understand that this One whom John saw in the vision, who was  " like unto the Son of Man " is the Jesus he knew on earth as the future ruler of all things.   Many scriptures convey this and a few are tabulated below to give us a taste of what is to come.   The whole thing would be summed up in the words of Hebrews chapter 2 v8-9  " For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him.   But now we see not yet all things put under Him, but we see Jesus ....... crowned with glory and honour. "  

• Daniel 7 v 13- 14      -      "I saw in the night visions and, behold, One like unto the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of days and they brought Him near before Him.   And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people , nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. "
• Matthew 24 v 30     -       "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
• Matthew 26 v 64     -       "Hereafter shall you see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven."   

There are many more references, but the above will suffice to illustrate the truth.   The Son of Man refers to a Perfect Man, Jesus, who will rule unchallenged over all the earth.   It is important we understand the full meaning of this title.

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 018

"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks......."   Revelation 1v12.

The awkward phrase  "I turned to see the voice that spake with me " probably reflects the fact that John not only heard a loud voice but was aware of a great brightness.   The first thing that he saw was seven golden lampstands.   We will deal with that first, and next we will focus on the One who stood in their midst.   The imagery of the lampstands would be meaningful to John.  

• The meaning of lampstands in holy scripture  -   Their function is to shed light in a dark place.   The progressive teaching of the lampstands  (candlesticks A.V.) is that God has never been, and will never be, without a witness in this world.   The spiritual state of the world is clearly said to be one of  darkness.   This is made clear by John in his gospel when he described Jesus Christ come in the flesh as  " the light of men " John 1v4.   He continues  "and the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not."     John 1v5.   Time and space would fail us to go into the differences between light and darkness save to say that they are opposite one to the other.   Scripture defines the knowledge of this world apart from God as darkness.   The lampstands first appeared in Exodus chapter 25 in the tabernacle.   Next we read of them in 1st Kings chapter 7 standing before the oracle in the temple.   Next we see them during the exile of Israel in Babylon in Zechariah chapter 4.   Next we see them in Revelation chapters 1,2 & 3, when the church has become the light of the world, reflecting the light of Jesus Christ.   Finally in Revelation chapter 11 the lampstands are mentioned again in connection with the two witnesses who will bring the truth of God, the light of God to the  world in the darkest period of world history yet to come.   Thus from the beginning of Divine revelation to the end, the light of God will go on shining.   Today that light is invested in the church.
• They are said to be golden lampstands  -  In all these pictures presenting Divine truth the Bible is self explanatory.   In the Old Testament pure gold represents Deity whereas gold with impurities represents God's people.   There is ever a distinction between God and His people.   When we think of the churches described as  "golden" we would expect to see something perfect.   A study of the churches in chapters 2 & 3 reveal that they are anything but perfect, but they are golden because they have the stamp of God upon them.   They are in fact a work in progress and only through a refinement process will they shine brighter and brighter.  It is not that they are any better than anyone else, it is simply that by faith they have the life of God within them.   The picture in the Old Testament of the golden lampstand in the tabernacle is very graphic indeed.   The lampstand was made from one talent (one hundred and twenty pounds approximately) of pure gold, but it was an undefined shape, was not measured, and represents God the Father as One who is undefined and undefinable.   This shapeless mass of pure gold was beaten into a recognizable shape in the seven branched lampstand that has become an iconic shape in the world today.   This represents Jesus Christ who took human form so that we could see Him as a recognizable man.   Thirdly through the stems of the lampstands flowed the oil which represents the Holy Spirit to give light in the dark place.   Thus the people of God as being part of the churches of God have the Divine stamp upon them of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   Despite their obvious weaknesses and failures they are still to be considered as the golden lampstands of the truth of God.  This of course is only true when they are truly representing the God who has saved them.  

A number of aspects of these lampstands should be observed and are interesting in themselves.  

• Each church is said to be in a locality:   Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.   There is no concept of a national church.  
• Each church is standing on its own base:   Each one is autonomous and is responsible to bring its own light.
• Each church is answerable alone to the One who is walking in their midst, the risen glorified Lord Jesus Christ.   There is no concept of a diocese, or committee or central church government; each one answers directly to the Lord.
• Each church exists to reflect the glories of Jesus Christ.    Thus in word and in deed the members are responsible to truly represent Him.  

The apostle Paul summarises the whole matter in 1st Timothy 3v15.   There he states that each church is the  "house of God " and  " the church of the living God " ( there is the golden aspect ) and each church is said to be the " pillar and ground of the truth."  ( There is the light shining ).   The ground of the truth is that the truth of God will be taught in the church; the pillar of the truth is that it will be transmitted to the world.   Thus every church should be a place of teaching and a place of testimony.   No matter how dark the days the light will never go out.  

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."      Matthew 5v16

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 017

"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."                                   Revelation 1v11

The voice of the risen Christ said to John  "what thou seest write in a book."   This is expanded in verse 19 and the threefold command to write becomes the division of the entire book.  

• Write the things which thou has seen:    This refers to the vision of verses of chapter 1 v 12 - 18 and may also refer back to the gospel of John and the epistles of John.   Particularly in John's first epistle he says the following;  " that which ......... we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life.   The apostle John was witness to His public life, to His crucifixion, to His resurrection, to His ascension, and now to His exaltation.   The theme of Revelation chapter 1 comes under the heading  "the things which thou has seen." 
• Write the things which are:      This refers to the church age of which John was part and covers chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation, describing not only churches in existence then, but a prediction of the course of church history until the end of the age of grace.   The phrase  "this present age " is distinct from " the age to come "
• Write the things which shall be hereafter:      This commences in chapter 4v1 and continues to the end of the book.   This interpretation is made clear by the ending of chapter 4v1 which describes  " the things which must be hereafter. "  

Thus the book of Revelation must be understood like this:

chapter 1  - the vision of the glorified Christ; 

chapters 2 - 3  -  The role of Christ in the church age; 

chapters 4 - 22  -  the role of Christ after the church age.

The command to write to the seven churches in Asia is interesting.   Asia means "slime or mire."   The churches stand for God in what is spiritually speaking a slime pit.   the names of the churches are also interesting and give some idea of their weaknesses and strong points as they stand to be a testimony for God.

• Ephesus means desirable but had left her first love and portrays loveless orthodoxy.
• Smyrna means myrrh and is the symbol of suffering - this church under went severe persecution.
• Pergamos means marriage and represents the church being wedded to the state.
• Thyatira means incense, but the fragrance had gone bad because of severe moral departure.
• Sardis means remnant and portrays the nominal church in which only a few were truly saved.
• Philadelphia means brotherly love and refers to a small recovery of true Christian love, but which only had a little strength.
• Laodicea means the right of the people and represents a church where people were in control and not the Lord.  

Of all the churches mentioned above only Philadelphia stood the test of time.   Trouble and failure was the order of the day and we should expect nothing less or more; yet we shall see there was something for God in all of them since they are described as "the seven golden lampstands."

END OF TIME PROPHECIES 016

"I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last; and what thou seest write in a book a send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia."                              Revelation 1v10-11

We come now to the details of the vision by John of the ascended, glorified Christ.   This vision is something no one had ever seen.   There were glimpses of it on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew chapter 17)  but nothing to compare with the awesome glory which is now before us.   This vision parallels with that given to Ezekiel in chapter one but goes further than that by identifying the Person so glorified.   The place of the vision was the barren rocky island of Patmos, a bleak place, a largely uninhabited place and a place surrounded by waters, so it was entirely conducive to receiving the vision that follows.   The timing of the vision is said to be on the Lord's Day.   Some interpret this as a Sunday being the day of commemoration of the Lord's death, but there seems to be no other indication in the New Testament of such a day.   Paul said in Romans 14v5  "one man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike.   Let every man be persuaded in his own mind."   For me this would discount such an interpretation.   It is not so much the commemoration of His death and resurrection that is in view here, it is the day of the revelation of the ascension glory of Christ, a day never to be forgotten, a notable day, the day of the Lord, the day when the Lord asserts His control, and the power of this will come out during the exposition. This is indeed a notable day for all God's people, when finally they realise just who He is.   It was a spiritual vision  "I became in the Spirit."   The teaching of the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit is always with His people, but there are times when He would especially move them and reveal to them the things of God.   This is what is happening here.   The details of the vision are numerous and each one should take up our attention.   In verses 10 - 18 John speaks of his whole body covering; he speaks of His breasts; he speaks of His head and his hairs; he speaks of His eyes; he speaks of His feet; he speaks of His voice; he speaks of His right hand; he speaks of His mouth; and he speaks of His countenance.   We anticipate now John's reaction to this vision  "when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead "  verse 17.   This is the same John who was closest to Jesus of all the disciples and who was on daily speaking terms with Him, but he had never anticipated anything like this and his reaction tells all.   We are immediately confronted with the awesome glory in all its detail of the person of Christ who once died for us on a Roman cross.   The fact that He is seen by John in that character as walking in the midst of the seven churches should bring before every gathered believer a sense of awe when we come into His presence.   It is perhaps true to say that such a sense of awe has disappeared from our churches and we need to recover it.   In some ways we have become besotted with the fact that He has died for our sins and we have quite forgotten just who He is.  

"I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet."   verse 10.   When God of old would bring about any announcement or demand any movement or suggest any action it was always by means of  trumpets.   The details of this can be found in Numbers chapter 10.   Other portions are Exodus 19, Exodus 20, Joshua 6, Judges 3,6 & 7.   Two silver trumpets were sounded in the camp of Israel and the number of trumpets sounded, the length or shortness of the blast, and the low or high sound of the blast, would give very well known instructions to the people of Israel.   These were used for the gathering of the leaders, for the gathering of the congregation, for the moving of the camp, for the call to war and for rejoicing on the feast days.   The sound of the trumpet was meaningful to Israel and should be meaningful to us today as we are called to attention to the vision before us.   This was no trivial matter and called for urgent, swift and immediate action.   This was a communication of great importance.  The action called for here was for John to stop everything he was doing; to write what he saw in a book; and to send it promptly to the seven churches of Asia.   The clarion call of the trumpet demanded immediate action. 

The essence of the book of Revelation is that God is about to become directly involved in the affairs of earth, and this will inevitably mean judgement because of sin.   God always gives warning to His people of impending judgement and this is what He is doing here.   This Divine communication is not now so much of a Saviour God coming to forgive peoples' sins but of God as the Judge of the whole earth to punish those who have rejected His grace.  

The presentation of Jesus Christ in the vision, as we shall see, is one of the Judge, just as the scriptures reveal  " The Father ....... hath committed all judgment unto the Son ."   John 5v22    Again in Acts 17v31   "God......hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained."    What we have here is a vision of the Man by whom God will judge the entire world."  

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"I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."              Revelation 1v9

We are now introduced to the human author of the book, and against the backdrop of the awesome glory of Jesus, for whom he was writing, John must have felt quite inadequate for the task.   This should be true of any of us who engage in such a work, that we should feel the weight of responsibility, and a sense of unworthiness.   For this reason John introduces himself, not as an apostle but as a brother.   He could not do otherwise, since against the blazing glories of Jesus Christ his own little light would be very dim indeed.   He says three things about himself:

• I am your brother.        John is the apostle who presents the truth of the family of God more than any other.   He emphasizes the fact that God is our Father, and we are all brethren.   John 1v12  "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name."   Seven times over in his first epistle John addresses the believers as  "my dear children. "   Chapter 2v1; 2v12; 2v28; 3v7; 3v18; 4v4; 5v21.   This is a study in itself and reveals what we all are in the family of God.   Love and respect to all our brethren is to the fore in his teaching and is seen as an evidence of salvation.   Here, he is the last apostle alive, yet he simply says to them "I am your brother".  
• I am your companion in tribulation.    We share good times, we share bad times.   Jesus said " in the world you shall have tribulation."   John 16v33   In the sermon on the mount he spoke about  " suffering for righteousness sake."   Matthew 5v10 and  " suffering for my sake."   Matthew 5v11.   Under the Roman Emperor Domitian the Christians suffered greatly under a severe persecution and many of them were banished to work in the mines.   The brutality of this regime was evidenced by the fact they would even send a ninety year old man to work in the marble quarries of Patmos.   The authorities of the day no doubt thought the were doing their own will, but God had a higher purpose.   It was during this exile on a barren rocky island in the Aegean Sea that he received the testimony of Christ which is now in our possession.   The very seclusion of that place and the bleakness of it, possibly enhanced the revelation that was given.   John would have been free from all distraction on that island and he had come to terms with the fact that this was God's will, saying to his readers that he was there  "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."   it is indeed a wonderful thing when we find ourselves in unwanted situations, to accept the fact that the Lord has a higher purpose.
• I am your companion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.     The kingdom of Jesus Christ is sure, but it is not yet visible.   As members of this invisible (but very real) kingdom we must suffer the misunderstanding and intolerance of a Christ rejecting world.   When John uses the word "patience" or perhaps better "endurance", he is indicating that all Christians will need a great deal of this quality.   Jesus said  "from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force."   Matthew 11v12.   As members of the kingdom, not yet visible, we must pass through trying times .   Some will suffer martyrdom, some unemployment, some mocking, some loss of possessions, perhaps even loss of dignity and loss of friendship.   We are all in the kingdom of heaven and we must together demonstrate the qualities required of those who are part of heavenly royalty.

A quick reading through chapters 6 - 19 will reveal what believers will suffer because of the kingdom of God.   Even in chapters 2 & 3, where a panoramic view of the churches is given, it is predicted that believers will have a less than perfect experience in the churches; having to live with false doctrine, false professors, nominal Christians, lethargic Christians, lukewarm Christians etc. etc.   The words of the apostle John come to us across the centuries  "I am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ."

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"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."   Revelation 1v8.


In verse 8, now, we hear Jesus the Divine author speaking, followed in verse 9 by John the human author.   A comparison with chapter  22v16  makes it clear that Jesus is the speaker.    This is without doubt one of the clear assertions (of which there are many), that Jesus is God.   Denial of this cardinal truth of the bible, characterizes such as false prophets, and anti-Christ, and, therefore anti- God. Acceptance of it is fundamental to "the faith".   It is a wonderful truth; we have just been told  "He's coming".   Who is coming?   We all know that the status of a writer gives weight to the writing, so who is He who so writes?   He is man, "the Son of Man"  (1v13),  the perfect man, the greatest man who ever lived, man as God intended him to be, yet He is truly God in all the fullness of His being!(Colossians2v9).

Immediately, He asserts "I am.........." This is the title of God revealed to Moses in Exodus3. It is that which alone belongs to Deity, but which, blasphemously, is being used by celebrities and businesses and mass- media promoters,  all the product of a God -rejecting society.   Jesus took this title to Himself in the gospel of John  "before Abraham was I am"  John 8v58.    He reveals the full spectrum of His title to Deity on our behalf: "I am the bread of life" John 6v35;  "I am the Light of the world"  John 8v12;  "I am the Door of the sheep"  John 10v7;  "I am the Good Shepherd"  John 10v11;  "I am the Resurrection and the Life"  John 11v25;  "I am the Way, the truth and the Life"  John 14v6;  "I am the true Vine"  John 15v1.   There is only one Man who is the Great I Am.   He now gives us a three fold expansion of this in the verse.

• He is Omniscient:        Alpha & Omega are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet.   Letters of the alphabet make up words, words make up sentences, sentences make up languages, together they all speak of communication, knowledge, wisdom.   Jesus Christ is the beginning and ending of all knowledge and wisdom and counsel and understanding in the universe.   Apart from Him all else is false.   He is the sole revealer of God (Matthew 11v27);  He is the sole communicator of God in every detail  (John 1v18).    Paul says in Colossians 2v3 in the context of human wisdom and philosophy,   "Christ.......... in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."   He is the treasury, the fount of all knowledge.   Indeed He is the beginning and ending of everything.   The title that was applied to God in the Old Testament  "The First and the Last"  (Isaiah 41v4)  (Isaiah 44v6) (Isaiah 48v12) is here taken by Jesus.   In Hebrews 12v2 He is   "the author and finisher of the faith."   In Colossians 1v16, a proper understanding of the verse would reveal that He is the architect and builder and sustainer and destiny of the entire material universe.   What He is in the realm of faith and in the realm of creation, He is in the realm of knowledge.   He knows everything,  about everything, and about everyone.  
• He is Omnipresent:      Jehovah, who spans all time and all space.   The footnote of the Newbury Bible comments on this.   The Hebrew name  "Jehovah" involves three time periods, past, present and future   "Which is;"   present participle meaning which always is.   "Which was;" imperfect tense meaning which ever was.   "Which is to come;"  participle meaning which always is the coming One.   No time whether past, present or future will wear Him out.   He was there at the beginning, He has been there all the way through, and He will be there forever.    There is no time period He has not witnessed, nor will there be.   Indeed over all time periods He has presided.   This is the true meaning of the Greek word  "aions" which is translated ages.   The man who came as Jesus is the Ancient of days and is the never ending One.
• He is Omnipotent:      The Almighty, corresponding to the Hebrew  "El-Shaddai" who is able to accomplish anything He chooses to begin.   The vision of Jesus in the glory of heaven in Revelation 5v6 expands on this theme.   "And I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth."    The horns in scripture always speak of power.   The number 7 always speak of perfection, completion.    In Jesus, in the glory, is invested the perfection, the fullness, of all power.   There is nothing He cannot do, it is pointless for anyone to oppose Him.   He said to His disciples before He left this world  "All power is given unto Me in heaven and upon the earth."   Matthew 28v18  

Concerning all people and all events in this world Jesus is hands on; He knows all things, He is everywhere at all times, and is all powerful.   This three fold assertion of Deity is cardinal to all that follows in this book.    Association with Him,  is eternal security; opposition to Him will mean eternal loss.   These three facets of Deity are described in detail in Psalm 139.   There they are applied to God, here in Revelation chapter 1 Christ applies it to Himself.   Major world religions deny this, but their denial makes it no less true.

Jesus Christ signs this letter at the beginning and at the end.   He is truly man and yet He is at the same time fully God.   What is obviously beyond human comprehension, is something that all of us should accept because it is true.

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"Behold He cometh with clouds............Revelation 1v7. THE SECOND COMING continued........

"...if I go...I will come again....."  so said Jesus to His disciples in the upper room, John 14v3.    This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven"......so said the angels to the witnesses on mount Olivet in Acts 1v11.    The great message of the followers of Jesus was twofold: "He is risen, He is coming again!"

The evidence from scripture is that Jesus second coming will be in two phases.   The first phase will be to remove His people, comprising the church, from the earth; the second phase will be to return with them to set up His kingdom on the earth.   Not all interpreters agree, and the details are too numerous to investigate here.   Those who believe, as I do in a two phase coming, do so for the following reasons:

• He is coming to the air (1st Thessalonians 4v17).
• He is coming to the earth (Revelation 1v7; Revelation 19v1-11; Matthew 24v29-30).
• He is coming for His people (John 14v3; 2nd Thessalonians 2v1; 1st Thessalonians 4v15-17).
• He is coming with His people (Revelation 19v14; 2nd Thessalonians 1v10; Jude 14).
• Two Greek words are used for His coming in the New Testament; Parousia which means presence, and indicates His private presence with His people.   The other word is Apokalypsis which means public manifestation.

These are inescapable differences and lead me to believe He is coming for His people first of all, and then He is coming with His people in public display.   Another fact is that the church is mentioned many times in chapters 1,2 & 3, but no mention is made until Revelation 19, where it says  "The marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife has made herself ready."    Revelation 19v7.    How did the Lamb's wife get to heaven?   Only by means of a translation from earth to heaven similar to Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament.    We cannot come with Him unless we are first where He is.  

The ultimate coming, of course, is when He returns to the earth with His saints in public view; and this is what is being referred to here.   It says  "Every eye shall see Him"  all of Israel, all the Gentile nations shall witness the glorious coming of Jesus Christ.   The nation of Israel will mourn in that day, when they realise that the Man whom they rejected as Messiah, and crucified (as seen in the word pierced) is in fact, and, was all along, the Anointed of God.   When He stands in awesome glory before them,   they shall understand in that day how badly they got it wrong.   A reading of Zechariah 12v10 - 13v1 is helpful here.   All the kindreds of the earth, representing Gentile nations, who for more than 2,000 years have had the offer of grace presented to them, will wail because their opportunity to be saved has gone.   The ramifications of His coming will be epoch-making and the details are recorded in scripture, a summary of which is as follows:

• There will be cosmic convulsions in the heavens.   (Revelation 6, Matthew 24)   There it is stated the sun is darkened, the moon fails to shine, the stars fall from heaven and the heavens depart as a scroll rolled up together.   What all that means is left to our imagination.
• There will be topographical change across the landmass of earth.   This process will have begun some years before; every mountain will be moved out of its place and all the islands will be scattered.   According to the prophet Zechariah in chapter 14 when His foot touches the Mount of Olives there will be an earthquake which splits the mountain in two and will cause a ravine to open up allowing the Mediterranean sea to flow towards the Jordan river and so on to the Dead sea. (read Zechariah 14 with Revelation 6, and scattered portions of Isaiah.
• The trumpet call of the angel will gather all Israel into their land  (Matthew 24).
• The great world leader and his false prophet will be banished as the first entrants into the lake of fire (Revelation 19).  
• Satan will be bound for 1,000 years (Revelation chapter 20).
• The judgement of the living nations will take place in the course of 75 days after His return (Matthew chapter 25 with Daniel 12).
• The apportionment of the land that God promised to Abraham will take place (Ezekiel chapter 45).
• Jesus will set up God's kingdom in Zion (the new Jerusalem, as per Daniel chapter 7. Isaiah 11 etc.

This is the message of the book of Revelation.   This is the summary of all the end of time prophecies.

                                                  BEHOLD HE IS COMING

Are we ready for that day?