Truly a Message For all

Truly a message for all - God's word. Every word written is for our edification in some manner. Do we understand everything, no.

1Co_13:12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  We are on lesson number 62. God bless you! ******

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 in 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 an 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, nowhere.

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.

There will never be a time without God, never.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  We are 61 lessons in, a lot, but so worth reading. God bless you! ******

The Beginning and the End

Rev 1:8 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. '

Rev 1:4  'John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come…'

The similarities right there within such a short bit of writing  between verse 4 and 8 means what?

Usually we call such repetitiveness redundant and any writer worth their salt would have deleted such reiteration as unnecessary use of words. Change things up we say; learn how to say the same thing in a new way so it doesn't come off as repetitive. But here in the Bible we know for a fact that the writers of this holy book got it right the first time with no need for an editor'[s sharp pen to run through any lines and make little notations to change things up a bit. These are God's words to man through the Holy Spirit inspiring them to write, and if these are holy words we are reading they are being written for a reason. If there is any repetition it is there for a reason as well, there to show emphasis perhaps? There to indicate important knowledge that we shouldn't overlook. The Bible isn't a novel, the Bible is a unique book, and the message it holds for any who reads it is also unique.

Read the beginning of Revelation and these words- which is, which was, which is to come, we can find again further along in another chapter of Revelation--

Rev. {4:8} '...saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.'

There is no mistaking the importance of this is there? The fullness glorified in those words is amazing. The Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the ending. Through it ALL the Lord is present, in all stages- past, present, and future. Never was there a time, and never will there be a time without the Lord living in it, never.

People tend to read the Bible as if it's OLD news, or confusing and complicated, and for those interested in such things, but certainly not a book for everybody.  People look for the spectacular all over the place. People thrive watching movies, reading books, all about the supernatural and one of the supernatural beings that fascinates them is the vampire who can supposedly live forever and ever. The idea of a being living hundreds of centuries, thousands of years is just incredible and secretly people wish they were able to live that long- that they could be one of these beings with this power over death in life, not power over death and living on another plane of existence after death or at some future time. The wondrous idea of being able to live among  creatures holds an allure that has captured the imagination of many people and it's no wonder- Satan's lie way back in the garden of Eden was what? Gen. {3:4} 'And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.'

Power over death. Satan has His own brand of life and he offers the allure of living forever in any way that pleases man so long as man doesn't believe in living forever through Jesus' Christ. Did God lie when He told Adam and Eve they would die? No. We are living proof of that fact and yet Satan will use all the tricks He can to get us to believe that we can live forever without God.

Satan was a created being. Satan cannot lay hold of the claim that he is from the beginning, yet he would have people think he is. He wants people to believe that he is God. That they too can be God. It's no joke. There are a lot of people searching for inner power and laying claim to their lives and finding empowerment from themselves. In fact there are a whole slew of people who will try and convince you that you are the captain of your own ship, the ruler of your own destiny, the power over a good life is in your own hands. The stress on self is the same lie satan used at the start. Gen. {3:5} 'For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.' Do you hear the lies? Yet that same lie is being spouted today and embraced as something wonderful. People want to be as gods. People want to believe they have a godly power.

Truthfully, while we get all caught up in the fantasy and lies of satan, while he projects his evil into every facet of our lives. When we find a certain hope or wish fulfillment from reading of beings that live forever we are showing that we do have a need for such hope in our lives- only Satan has twisted it and pulled it down to the level of man as men exist full of sin-- the very opposite of the truth.

There is a being who 'was, is, and is to come', God.

There will never be a time without God. Never. He is all.

He is the beginning and the end, there is nothing before and nothing after God.

We can struggle to find understanding and bring God down to our level and we can even pretend we are gods ourselves, but realizing that as creatures of the Creator we will never be the Creator ourselves is paramount. There is no shame in a son wanting to be like his father, but there is shame in the son wanting to be the father as if the father never was, as if the father isn't, and as if the father will no longer be. If you want to be like your father that's a good thing if you are embracing the good qualities of your father. But if you want to push your father aside and take his place, that's not so good. Usurping the life of another is never right. Creatures trying to usurp the Creator is completely wrong. If I'm told to be like someone, it's not the same as being told to take over that person's life.

Satan full of pride wanted to take over the Creator's position. He didn't want to be like God, he wanted to be God, the same as God without any distinction. And failing at that he wants us to believe we can obtain that position. He wants us to desire to have control over ourselves in place of us allowing God to control us. He's twisted things around perfectly and many have fallen for his deception.
...
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.

No other can make this claim. We can know this wonderful, amazing, Alpha, Omega, which was, which is, and is to come. We can cling to Him and the promises we find in Him knowing there is no other like Him nor will there ever be. We will always have had a beginning that includes many before ourselves, we will never be the Was at the beginning no matter what we believe. Some can embrace Satan's lies and most will, but by the grace of God I pray I'm not among them; that my Creator, my Redeemer, my God will always be first and foremost in all that I am and all that I do, it's only by His great mercy and love that this can be and I cling to Him through the Holy Spirit, hoping and praying in His everlasting, ever-existing love!

Amen!

Every Eye Shall See Our Savior When He Returns.

Every Eye Shall See Him

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily. We are on the 60th part of this study today.  Thank you :)  God bless you! ******


Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Look! Look!
Behold-- Dictionary Meaning -- for the purpose of calling attention.
Attention! Look! Look at this! Jesus comes with clouds!  This is amazing imagery.

The Bible uses imagery. The Bible uses mysteries and words that may mean more than one thing, especially in prophecy. The Bible interprets itself though. It's not some master puzzle without a master key. The key is within the puzzle itself. When we talk of Jesus coming with clouds it is true that perhaps He will be in the clouds,  or on the clouds.

Clouds those vaporous puffs and wisps, the angry, full dark gray bodies of pure moisture are all at Jesus' command. So sure, the imagery of Jesus standing upon a cloud using it as a magic carpet of sorts is possible, but so too is this-

Matthew {25:31} '...the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him...'

We know Jesus will return and call His people to Him while He is still in the air with ALL the holy angels, perhaps they're all upon the misty clouds but truly they do not need to rest upon vapors, do they? Clouds and angels, just the image of Jesus returning is amazing!  Clouds of angels! Angels so numerous they fill the sky around our Savior! This is a vision we should hold dear, a vision we should long to behold.

This next bit is amazing too-

'and every eye shall see him.'  (Rev. 1:7)

The eyes of the people who are awake?
The eyes of people on one location upon the earth?
The eyes of a few?
The eyes of only His chosen people?

No, no, no, and no.

EVERY eye shall see him! EVERY!

Dictionary def-  every (èv´rê) adjective- Constituting each and all members of a group without exception.

EVERY eye shall see him! How will this be possible with the whole round earth where daylight shines upon only one part at a time? A mystery for sure and one that I hope and pray I'm alive in Jesus to see!

Get this though- not only every eye of the living shall see Him but read on-

'and they also which pierced him' (Rev. 1:7)

Wait! Does this mean what I think it means? Who pierced Jesus? Who killed Him? Some might argue, and could be right, that we all played our part in His death with our sins. Our sins killed Jesus because He died to save us from our sins, all of us. He wouldn't have died if we'd not sinned. So even if the arguing person chooses that scenario that we ALL killed Him, we all pierced Him that just reinforces the fact that every eye shall see Him doesn't it? It does. It could also be stressing the point that those who are dead- those who actually physically pierced His hands, His feet, His side will be brought to life just to see Him return triumphant!

Read this- 1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first

We know the dead will be raised!

Such mysteries!

'and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.' (Rev. 1:7)

ALL kindreds--

Dictionary Definition- kindred (kîn´drîd) noun
1.A group of related persons, as a clan or tribe.
2.(used with a pl. verb). A person's relatives; kinfolk.
adjective
1. Of the same ancestry or family: kindred clans.
2. Having a similar or related origin, nature, or character: kindred emotions.

All kindreds, all of the earth... shall wail?! Wait, what?! Jesus has returned and everyone is wailing?! How can that be. We know that God's chosen people who are waiting for His return should be happy, they should be rejoicing so how can everyone wail? It doesn't mean EVERYONE on earth does it? But... read this...

John {17:14} 'I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. {17:15} I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. {17:16} They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. {17:17} Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. {17:18} As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.'

'THEY ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD'

1 John {2:15} 'Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {2:16} For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. {2:17} And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.'

Is it possible all kindreds of the earth are those who claim the earth as their own; those who love this world and live for this world and not the world to come? Those who aren't God's are this world's, they are ruled by the lust of the flesh, the eyes, by pride of life. All those who have put their hopes and dreams, their love into this world's existence, counting on the things this world has to offer for their happiness will be sorely disappointed when Jesus returns, won't they? When they realize that it's all true, that Jesus, the Son of God is real and all His promises are real. There will be wailing and I imagine quite a lot of wailing.

Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

We can't forget this because it goes hand in hand with our Lord's return.  He WILL descend from heaven. The dead in Christ shall rise first.

Remember how we just read that the eyes of those who pierced Him would witness this amazing event? The dead are rising!

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  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.

ALL that are in the graves shall hear His voice and…. COME FORTH!

The dead will rise, only they aren't going to be zombies rising from the grave to some shell of a former life. The dead will rise both the good dead and evil dead and they are going to witness Christ's return!  We can rack our brains and come up with NO logical way for any of that to happen none whatsoever. We've made fantasy out of what will be a reality- the dead rising. We've made horror out of something that has the potential for beauty beyond comprehension. The dead rising.  We cannot logically imagine this ever happen let alone how it would be accomplished and that's a good thing really, because for us to truly comprehend it in a logical manner would be stripping God of His Godhood. Many, many want to do this, many want to strip God of His Godhood by introducing scientific, logical explanations for everything.  None could ever explain the logic behind the dead rising-  ALL the dead, not just one or two but ALL that are in their graves will hear our Savior's voice and rise in a miraculous, inexplicable way.  They will rise - both good and evil- some to life, others to death once more.

The prophecy in Revelation connects to Daniel, and to all the prophecies of Jesus, we cannot separate them. When we read about Christ's second coming, we know without fail everything written will come to pass.

Daniel had visions of the end of the world, the end of all earthly kingdoms and the coming of a heavenly kingdom. The heavenly kingdom would destroy the earthly. Our Savior's coming does this. Every eye shall see Him and we know that the dead in Christ will go with Him and those not in Christ will then be killed by His brightness.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Those who do NOT receive the love of the truth will be destroyed, they will NOT be saved!

Those who do NOT love JESUS who is the TRUTH will be destroyed.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

The brightness of our Savior's coming will kill those who are not His, yes, even those who have been called from their graves if they are NOT Christ's then they will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming.

Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

This is an amazing prophecy and it is factual, it will come to pass without any doubt whatsoever. By the Lord's mercy and grace may we be His when He returns and may we see Him as He returns for us with gladness in our hearts as we rise up to meet Him in the air!

By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior may we be with Him now and forever. In Christ's amazing righteousness!

Amen.

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Prophecy- Revelation of our Beloved Jesus Christ.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  We are 59 studies in. Thank you :)  God bless you! ******

Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

(We already studied verses 2 and 3 a few days ago so we won't study them again here.  Once more I am picking up with the Revelation study I did in my blog in Aug. 2009/11. I will be revising as the Spirit leads- all by God's amazing grace.)

Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen

John to the seven churches

Seven churches. Biblically the number seven is used many, many times. It was used in the beginning of the Bible- God made the world and all that was in it- in seven days. God made the seventh day a memorial for eternity. Our lives are still influenced by the seven day week and will be forever.

'The first pages of the Bible explain how God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. This seventh day became the Jewish day of rest, the Sabbath, Saturday.
Extra-biblical locations sometimes mentioned as the birthplace of the 7-day week include: Babylon, Persia, and several others. The week was known in Rome before the advent of Christianity.' http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/week.html#anchor-origin

With seven denoting a sense of completeness - of perfection-  it truly is perfect for indicating the beginning and the end of the prophecy. And these seven churches not only represent churches in existence when John wrote the prophecies, but they serve yet another purpose - that of representing the time from John's existence right on down until Christ comes again. This is a familiar setup, isn't it?  It is, because we just studied Daniel and in the book of Daniel more than once a vision was given and that vision extended from the time of Daniel down until the end of time at Christ's second coming.  We are no stranger to this sort of prophecy, not at all.  Now let's look at Sevens in the Bible.

Seven days of creation. Genesis 1
Seven days for Noah to fill the Ark. Genesis 7:4-10
Seven years Jacob serves for each wife. Genesis 28:18-20; 29:27-30
Seven plentiful years and seven famine years in Egypt. Genesis 41
Seven days the waters turn to blood. Exodus 7:25
Seven lamps of the Menorah. Exodus 25:37
Seven feasts of Israel. Leviticus 23
Seven years  to the sabbatical year. Leviticus 25:4
Seven times seven to the jubilee year. Leviticus 25:8
Seven priests with seven trumpets circle Jericho seven times. Joshua 6
Solomon spent seven years building the temple. 1 Kings 6:38
Daniel’s seventy sevens prophecy. Daniel 9:24-27
Seventy years in Babylonian exile. Jeremiah 25:11-12
Seven loaves fed the 4,000, seven baskets are leftover. Matthew 15:32-39
Seven deacons in the early church. Acts 6:5
Seven miracles in the gospel of John. John
Seven discourses in the gospel of John. John
Seven “I am” statements in the gospel of John. John
Paul sent letters to seven different churches. Paul’s epistles
Seven churches in Revelation. Revelation 2,3
Seven promises, seals, trumpets, angels, plagues, bowls... Revelation
Seven promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Genesis
Seven miracles on the Sabbath. Gospels
Seven sayings of Jesus from the cross. Gospels
Seven appearances of angels. Gospels and Acts
Seven elements of the armor of God. Ephesians 6:14-18

Yes, the number seven is a number of completeness and we can easily understand that while Christ chose to give God's Revelation through His angel to John to go to seven churches it would be a message for all time as well. The fullness of history from that point on. Seriously, the revelation would be complete and that means a revelation for all of God's servants through time. The blessing given to all who read, hear, and keep the words within are for all- for you and for me. The blessings were for those living in that time as well. Knowing this- we have to read these words and pray for a clear understanding to be blessed with all that we need to hear and keep.

Rev. 1:4… 'John to the seven churches…'

Churches- a church Biblically is what? A building? No. The church essentially denotes God's people, period. It's not a building erected and named. God's people in each of these places are being addressed. We could also say, God's people in each of these times are being addressed. God's people- His church throughout all time are being called to attention.

Rev. 1:4 '...which are in Asia Grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come…'

Grace and peace- this is all God has ever wanted for us, His people, isn't it? His grace to cover our sins, His peace which isn't of this world but a peace in knowing Him and Him knowing us.

John {14:27} 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you'

Grace and peace from HIM which is, which was, and which is to come. God.

John {17:1} 'These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee'

John {17:9} 'I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. {17:10} And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.'

We are all God's.
 We are God's- Jesus even said so.

Rev1:4 '...and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne'

From the perfect Spirit- seven the perfect completeness of the Spirit.
Seven churches- the complete church.
Seven Spirits- the complete Spirit.

Rev. 1:5 'And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.'

From Jesus Christ. The faithful witness. The first begotten of the dead- the first begotten- Jesus was the first begotten of His kind wasn't He? Think about it. The Son of God. There was no other Son of God that took on humanity. Jesus was the first begotten in the manner He was begotten and yes- the first begotten and the only one by whom the dead - those promised death through sin- will live again. The dead will find life in the first begotten. Jesus truly is the first begotten of the dead- we only find life in Christ.

'The prince of the kings of the earth.' Jesus is the ultimate prince of all the kings. There is no other prince of the kings of the earth but Jesus- He reigns.

'Unto him that loved us.' No other has ever loved us like Jesus- no other!

'and washed us from our sins in his own blood.' Only Jesus the innocent Son of God could cleanse us from our sins by His amazing sacrifice. By His blood we are freed from sin.

'And hath made us kings and priests unto God' We are to serve God as His kings, his priests-- we are God's through Jesus!

'And His Father! To him be the Glory! And dominion!

Forever and ever!

Amen!

*******

Introduction-

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

I reach out to you and in my hand is a scroll, a very old scroll. I tell you to take it, to open it, to read it because inside this scroll is a message from God to you.

You take the scroll and unroll it and begin to read-

'The Revelation of Jesus Christ.'  You pause as that sinks in. What you are reading, what you are holding in your hand contains the Revelation of Jesus Christ.  A revealing of Jesus Christ, the SAVIOR, your SAVIOR!  But how can you be sure it is a true revealing of Jesus Christ? You know this book, this scroll has been found placed with other scrolls of the same nature- Godly revelations, Godly truths. This scroll  contains the revelation of Jesus Christ!  You read further- 'which God gave unto him'.  God the Father gave Jesus Christ the only begotten Son the revelation!  God the Father along with God the Son, revealed.  And you quickly read more- 'to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass'. This scroll of revealing Christ was given to Jesus by the Father to show us His servants!  Specifically God's people, God's servants were to have this revelation of Jesus Christ! And it would show these servants THINGS that would take place!

Are you a servant of God? Are you a servant of Jesus Christ? I'm a servant of God, of Jesus Christ and I want to know all about the things that will take place.

You continue reading this amazing scroll, scarcely believing you are being given something so amazing!
'…and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. '  The one writing this amazing scroll was a servant named John, and an angel of the Savior, of God gave John the information to record. John who wrote the word of God, who wrote of the testimony of Jesus Christ, who wrote of ALL things that he saw! He was given visions, the ability to see all of what was to be revealed.

You read on, 'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.'  Such words! You will be BLESSED if you read, hear, and keep all the revelation of Jesus Christ!  Do you want to be blessed? Of course you want to be blessed! You read more….

'John to the seven churches which are in Asia:'

 First John was to see a broad picture not just for all of God's servants at the time of the writing, but for all throughout time.  He wasn't given a message for single group of Christians as a whole, but as Christians, as Christ's servants in several groups throughout the land. A different message for seven different groups comprised of Christ servants. But there were many more groups spread out all over the surrounding territories, why weren't they all included? Why these seven churches? Seven- a number of completeness, of wholeness.  Seven messages - one complete message for all time, for all servants, for all who would read.

'Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Grace and peace from JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOR! He along with God the Father are those who are, who were, and who will be, but not just those two also the complete SPIRIT, the Holy Spirit, -  seven Spirits before His throne!    God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit want us to have GRACE and PEACE!  Glory be to our Gods!  Our Savior- the faithful witness! Our Savior- the first begotten of the dead, the first of His kind to ever be! Our Savior- the prince of the kings of earth! Our Savior- who LOVED US. Our Savior- who washed us from our sins in his own blood!  Our Savior- who has made us kings, and priests unto God.  To His Father, to Him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever!

Do we believe?!  We have to believe if we claim to be the servants of God. Can we be servants of God and not believe these words?  How amazingly exciting to truly comprehend the privilege of being given this book of Revelation, and a Revelation of Jesus Christ at that!  What servant would not want to know more of their beloved Master? A beloved Master who died so we could live!  Truly we are blessed in that realization alone! And there is so much more to come!

May God truly bless us!

Time is the shortest when you run out of it, isn't it?

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Mat 19:30  But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Jesus' promises to us.

In the REGENERATION-  will we be there?

What do we forsake for Jesus Christ our Savior?

It doesn't seem feasible to us here in the USA and other parts of the Western world, that we would be asked to forsake anything at all, not really. But there are many who are asked to make that hard choice, even between life and death. 

We truly need to forsake anything that would keep us from our Savior, may God help us do this. Our flesh is so weak.

Now, let's continue with our prophecy study, the revelation that reveals to us TRUTH, TRUTH of our future, truth of our past.  The REGENERATION Christ speaks of WILL come to pass.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  God bless you! ******

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John

God gave this revelation to Jesus to show to his followers- his servants. --

Servants-

Col. {4:12} Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ

Titus {1:1} Paul, a servant of God

James {1:1} James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ

2 Pet.{1:1} Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ

Jude {1:1} Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ

1 Cor.{7:22} For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant

Matthew {20:27} And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: {20:28} Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Matthew {23:11} But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

John {15:20} Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.

God gave this revelation to Jesus to show it to His servants, us, we who are reading and trying to understand, we who are followers of Christ seeking to serve Him, and to serve others for Him. We are being shown things and these things MUST SHORTLY COME TO PASS.

We are being shown things that will come to pass without a doubt. Things that WILL happen. There are certainties in life, a lot of them. There are positives in life. If you mix sugar with water without a doubt that sugar will dissolve. It's a positive. There are things which are positives and nothing can alter them, nothing. We can't hold back time it marches on whether we want it to or not- that's a positive. It's a must. When God says something MUST come to pass it's a certainty, it's a positive, it's inevitable.

So from the time the revelation was given to Jesus by God to give to us, given to the angel by Jesus to give to John, and from the moment John's pen hit the page and the word was sent out to the people, those things written were to come to pass from that moment on.

The revelation came to us shrouded in mystery. We couldn't be told things straight out as if one person was instructing another, things had to be done in cryptic manners so that the message would be pertinent to ALL that would follow- to ALL of Christ's servants throughout time until He returns to take us to Heaven.

The mystery had to be such that it wasn't impossible to comprehend, but that time would unfold it as necessary, preparing all of Christ's servants.

These things we are to see must shortly come to pass, what does that mean?

What is shortly to God?

Shortly as opposed to eternity when we're dealing with the end of chances for all of mankind to be Christ's servants- is in truth very short.

When all those that will be saved are saved and all that will not be saved are not saved, then Jesus will return and the short time from His return, to life and to heaven will be over- it's not something to rush even if it has to be short.

You might have a short bit of time to accomplish something but you don't have to rush to make the time even shorter.

When we as humans are faced with a chance to save lives in one profession or another- fireman, policeman, coastguard, doctors, etc.. and  the situations call for many people needing to be saved all at once- the regret felt when time runs out and many people are left dead because time ran out, is immense. The sorrow is overpowering and the wish that time had just stretched out somehow long enough to save everyone is a wish that is truly felt and yet a wish that cannot come true.

Time WILL run out for people, for mankind.  We all will have had a chance to choose to serve Christ or not to serve Him, to be counted as Jesus' servants or not be counted among them. Jesus believes time is short because He does not want to lose one person,  not one! 

Time is the shortest when you run out of it, isn't it?

*******

By His grace always!

Amen.

Reading, Hearing, Keeping - God Willing

Those who have followed these studies for a while now will know that studying Daniel and Revelation has been something I've done off and on since the studies started.  Maybe it's the urgency of the end times I don't know, but it hasn't been too long since my last study on prophecy, but I have to go through it again. Perhaps I'm trying to embed it in my own mind, I don't know. If you have all this knowledge in your possession already, by all means do not continue reading.  I don't have it, not in the way I believe I really need to have it in my mind, my heart.

May God bless us all as we strive to LEARN, to READ, to HEAR, to KEEP the things written in God's word of Revelation- the time is at hand for us.

Please, through the Holy Spirit may we be blessed! In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord now and forever!  AMEN.

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  God bless you! ******

Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Now I've studied this before but it bears studying again and again, and again.  This is the revelation of JESUS CHRIST.   This isn't John's revelation, this is our SAVIOR's revelation. And God gave this revelation to His Son so the servants of His Son would see all the things that would come to pass. Yes, it says shortly and in the grand scheme of eternity the time is shortly.

Jesus sent this revelation and signified it by His angel and His angel gave this revelation to our Savior's servant, John.   How amazing is this, seriously, God used Daniel as His prophet , a prophet our Savior even referred to. Now God gives a revelation to Jesus Christ to give to Jesus' servant John.

John, like Daniel, is the human instrument who records the revelations.  John spent three years with Jesus from the beginning of His ministry until it's end. John who since the death and resurrection of our Savior spent His life spreading the gospel of the kingdom was chosen to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ. John bore record of Jesus- the Word of God. John bore record to the message that Jesus Christ had to bring to the world.

John had seen so much of Jesus, so much of His life that he could give first hand testimony to all.  First hand testimony means so much. People who live with someone for three years come to know them  quite well. Even those who go to school- let's say college for a couple years and live in a dorm room with someone- get to know them and that's not a very good analogy to the day in day out living with Jesus that His Apostles took a part in.  It is safe to say with all certainty that the Apostles, of whom John was one, knew Jesus like no others, including those who lived with Him all His life up to that point.

How can I say that last bit? I can say it because it wasn't until Jesus was baptized that He began His ministry, He did not live His ministry before that time. Yes, He went about His Father's business as instructed but the message of salvation, the message of the gospel of the kingdom was not preached until He was anointed by His Father upon His baptism.  Only His Apostles knew Jesus so intimately it could be said of them that they bare record of the word of God, that they had the testimony of Jesus Christ and all things that he saw.

Jesus chose the Apostle John to bring this revelation to others by recording it and we must understand the revelation is prophecy and prophecy is the foretelling of what WILL come to pass if God wills.   Do you remember talking about how not ALL things prophesized come to pass? Remember when God issues prophetic warnings they are done to get His people to see the error of their ways and if the people do, God can will that the thing prophesized not come to pass. Prophetic warnings have this possibility, but prophetic history does not.  There was little warning, but a lot of fact in Daniel's prophecies of our history.  As we study this book of Revelation we will see a lot of warning, as well as history- of things which must come to pass.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Blessed- are the readers.
Blessed- are the hearers.
Blessed- are the keepers.

Read, hear, keep and we are blessed.

By the grace of God may we truly READ with eyes wide opened, with our hearts kept in Christ, with the blessing of the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.
By the grace of God may we truly HEAR all that is said to us, may we comprehend all that Christ would have us comprehend and be blessed.
By the grace of God may we KEEP all that we comprehend from reading and hearing.

All through Christ's righteousness! All through His love! By His mercy, by His grace forever!!!!!!!

Amen.

The stone was cut out of the mountain without hands

Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

This prophecy set in the beginning of the book of Daniel has been expounded upon greatly in such detail we can go all the way to the last chapter of Daniel and understand that the stone destroys all of earth’s kingdoms making way for Christ’s kingdom. Will we be alive when that ‘Stone’ destroys all earth’s kingdoms? God’s will.

From <https://www.facebook.com/notes/>

******* Continuing our prophecy study--  Please GO back and READ the study from the beginning to gain full understanding of where we are if you haven't been following this study daily.  Thank you :)  God bless you! ******

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Amazingly wonderful!  We know what this is, the second coming of our Savior!

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Delivered!

The prophetic unfolding of history, of that vision given here in Daniel, realized at last! 

Now, Daniel desired to understand the visions given to Him and God sent an angel to help him understand, but the truth of the matter is, Daniel probably couldn't fully understand everything. However Daniel did understand the 'end result'.  That end result was salvation! That end result was deliverance by God. Daniel lived hundreds of years before Christ was born, and yet He knew that there would be salvation through Him. He knew a Great Prince would save God's children. He knew that many who were sleeping in the dust of the earth (the dead) would awake- some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. People who died in Christ, in God had hope of living on. Those who died without God, without Christ only had the hope of death.    Daniel understood there would be an end to all history of mankind living without God. God would live on eternally and God's people would live on with Him.  This amazing hope was Daniel's and in that He was given so very, very much from that angel- Daniel's prayer was answered.

Dan 12:4  But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Now the angel says- shut up the words, seal the book to the time of the end- many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased.  We KNOW that this has happened only within the last couple hundred years- or less.

Seriously! You find a person who was born in 1911 and ask them how much has changed in our world and they'd have great stories to tell.  Prior to that a person born in the early 1800's would have been shocked completely to realize how greatly things would change.  Horse and buggy- to all the various modes of transportation we have today. Out houses and washboards- to indoor plumbing and washing machines. Cruel, seemingly barbaric forms of medical treatment in operations- to our pain free life saving techniques of today.  I could go on and on, but I won't. The point here is for thousands and thousands  of years our world changed very gradually with the occasional advancement but then quite suddenly all over the world at the same time- knowledge was increasing by leaps and bounds and not only knowledge in secular things, but knowledge in things Biblical.  That sealed book was unsealed, that shut book was opened- the things in Daniel could be understood because enough of the history had past for people to truly comprehend the wonder of the prophecy given. How blessed people are and most don't even realize it, don't even want to realize it, would rather believe in anything but the sure word of God's prophecy.

Dan 12:5  Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

Dan 12:6  And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

Dan 12:7  And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Dan 12:8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Dan 12:10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Dan 12:11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Dan 12:12  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

We are going to stop here, but we are far from finished with the prophecy of Daniel. Tomorrow God willing we will be begin studying the book of Revelation.

We need our eyes opened, we need our hearts made new, made clean, by God. We have to understand what times we live in and keep our eyes wide opened to our Savior's love.  Only through Him do we have hope of understanding, of prevailing, only in Christ's righteousness!

By His grace!

By His amazing unending love and mercy!

Through His forgiveness, His righteousness!

Amen.