A Message for All

A Message for All

Rev 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.


John was on an isle called Patmos- why? For the word of God, for the testimony of Jesus Christ which we read later is --


Rev 19:10 '... for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'


John was in the isle of Patmos for the word of God and for the Spirit of prophecy- the testimony of Jesus.


John, who, like all who are followers of Christ from the beginning until the end-are brothers and companions in tribulation- the tribulation the world offers us.


John 16:33 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'


John was no stranger to the world's tribulations that followers of Christ suffer. John was a part of it all, he had his part in the suffering of the tribulation and his part in the kingdom- the promise of the kingdom in Jesus- the patience. For what Christian can truly be a Christian without the patience necessary to endure all that the world offers and be victorious in Christ?


John - a brother, a companion, a believer in the kingdom, a possessor of the patience of Jesus Christ- John was where he was for God, for the Spirit of Prophecy for the testimony of Jesus Christ.


Rev 1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'


John was in the Spirit. John was is the Holy Spirit- the Holy Comforter -


John- 16:7 'Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come'


Jesus talked of sending the Spirit, the Comforter to us after He was to leave the world. This Comforter, this Spirit of truth is for all of us. John was in the Spirit, John was given the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, and while He was absorbed in the Spirit he heard a great voice, as of a trumpet. Can you imagine the sound of that voice?! As of a trumpet. Now I've heard a trumpet before and they're nothing like a soft flute are they? They are loud and commanding. Trumpets are used to bring people to attention, to make them listen, to be heard. A great voice as of a trumpet- this would indeed be a voice commanding attention, a voice that could not be ignored.


What did the voice say?

...

Rev 1:11 'Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and…'


Again the emphasis on the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and there is only one Alpha and Omega, only one! God.


Rev 1:11 '...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.'


Write in a book, the voice, the commanding voice from the Alpha and Omega wants John to write a book and even tells him where the book was to go to. Was it to be broken up and part sent here and part there? No. A book was to be written and sent to all seven churches. So clearly the first church- Ephesus would read what John had to say to the six after them. The last church Laodicea would be able to read all that was written for the six churches before them. This book was clearly to be written for all seven churches with specific points mentioned for each church and yet all the churches would read what was written for all of them. What was meant for Laodicea would also be read by Ephesus, and Laodicea would read what had been written for Ephesus and each church in between.


Remember talking about the number seven in and earlier study? Remember talking about what constitutes God's church? The number seven is a number signifying completeness, perfection. God's church isn't a building- but God's people. Think about it... John wrote a book and sent it to seven churches, were there more than seven churches then? More than seven groups of God's people? Did they feel neglected and left out because they weren't given a specific message? Or is it possible that the message given to each of God's people in those various seven locations was a message that would travel with those people and be given to all of God's people? Seriously, if I have an important message from my mother I'm going to share it with my sisters and brother, aren't I? I won't say this important message is just for me and for me alone. It's important and like most important things they are shared with others.


The ways of God aren't our ways. We do know that we, who are alive today, are getting the same message that was given to those seven churches. We are part of God's church, we are part of God's people and as such we share in this important message. So yes, John was to write a book and send it to seven groups of God's people in seven different areas, and yet we know this message was for ALL of God's people to live before His return, from that time unto our time and right up until the time of Jesus' return.


Another point can't be overlooked here-

Rev 1:10 'I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet'


Way too many people think the Lord's day mentioned means Sunday, but it can't. The ONLY Sabbath ever kept by Jesus was the seventh day Sabbath. The ONLY Sabbath kept by His Apostles was the seventh day Sabbath. A few centuries later it became common place to consider the Lord's day - Sunday but ONLY because MAN authorized the change, not God. Don't you think that there would be a lot, I mean volumes written on the change of the Lord's Day from Sabbath to Sunday- if the Apostles believed that Jesus authorized such a change? Did Jesus change ANY of the ten commandments? No. Jesus reinforced them to their true meaning, but He did not null and void any one of those ten commandments. Did Jesus take away any of the commandments? NO! You have to believe that if Jesus meant for people to change the Sabbath from one day to another He would have given specific instruction about doing so and yet NO where is that instruction found, no where. People confuse things and say- but they broke bread on the first day of the week. Yeah, so they did and they broke bread on the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, etc. Then they say that people were told to set aside their money so it could be collected on the first day of the week. Money wasn't dealt with on the SABBATH! Didn't Jesus throw out moneychangers to show His disdain for things dealing with money and the temple? Throughout our Bible over and over again the breaking of the Sabbath by dealing with buying and selling on the Sabbath is mentioned and it does NOT please God! So why would ANYONE use the fact that money is dealt with on the first day of the week as a sign of it being God's new Sabbath?! Do you see? People pervert the truth in order to suit their own form of truth that is far from being God's. Satan has used this deception on such a grand scale that millions and millions and millions of people are deceived by it. Here, in the book of Revelation, John was in the Spirit on the LORD'S Day, on the Sabbath. God's prophecy, God's message was initiated on the Day that John would be closest to our Lord, on the day that John was worshipping the Creator, the Redeemer. Praise God!


May God open our hearts and minds to Him, may we be in the Spirit, may we have the Spirit of truth in us comforting us, guiding us leading us as Jesus would have us led. When we read and study God's word to His people may our hearts be in Him, open to receive any blessing He would bestow upon us. May our insight be solely guided by Him, our Savior, our Redeemer, by His grace and His mercy now and forever!

Amen.