He Was Dead and He Is Alive.

Jesus tells John to write- 

 

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 

 

He is the FIRST and He is the LAST. He was DEAD and He is ALIVE.

 

I have to take a moment here to include this bit of insight. Why is it important that Jesus is alive after death? Seriously, why? I ask this because most people seem to believe we are ALL alive after we die, right? Ask several people you know if they believe their dead loved ones are in heaven right now? What kind of response do you think you'll get? Yes, yes…yes… it's a common belief now. So again, why is Jesus being alive after dying important? Supposedly all people live after death so Jesus living after dying is no great feat. You may interject that it's important because Jesus lived after dying with His flesh body where others who die are not in their flesh bodies any longer. Jesus could interact with others in their flesh bodies, others can't. These are important truths, but is that all it means to have eternal life and salvation? You get to put your floating self that has been alive since you died back into your body?  If this is what it means WHY aren't we told this part at all? Why doesn't God's word go into great detail on this aspect? Why are we left to wonder about it all? Where are we told in God's word that we get to float out of our bodies after death and are able to visit earth and our loved ones whenever we want, but they won't know it? That we get to watch all their heartache and sorrow, tortures and agonies, dying because we can see it all- oh, and the part about no more tears or sorrow in heaven- that isn't really true, right? Because what person in any form- spirit or body could watch a loved one in pure agony and not feel their heart break? Do you understand what I'm saying? God's word does NOT support our continuing to live on with our ability to think, reason, know, praise after we die. God's word supports death being a sleep. Death is a sleep because it is temporary, just like sleep that isn't death's sleep is temporary. Death is a sleep because we aren't conscious of any thoughts we are having while we sleep. We may dream but dreams are not under our control in any way at all whatsoever, we are not conscious in our dreams. Death is a sleep because the next thing we know after we fall asleep is waking up again. And God's word tells us this…

 

1Th 4:13  But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 

1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 

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. 

 

Do you see it? Do you understand? Those that die in Christ, will wake up at the last trump when the Lord descends with a shout. If you are already awake - conscious in spirit form after you've died, then why would you need to be woken up? You KNOW what it means to wake up- you have to be sleeping in order to be woken up. IF you were already conscious why isn't the word of God telling us that the spirit bodies are reunited with their flesh bodies? Why not? WHY NOT?

 

Yes, it may seem I'm caught up on this point because I speak of it so often, but it's truth that so many are BLIND to and want to remain BLIND to so they can placate themselves with the comforting belief that death isn't nothingness, that loved ones are still around them and know things- like they love them and miss them. They want this lie to be truth because it makes them feel good somehow. Instead of finding the greatest comfort in knowing their loved ones DO NOT see them and all their struggles and pains, and the agonies of the entire world, but are sleeping and have no pain - emotional, mental, physical to witness, they focus on their self and the own emotional need for the comfort of still believing the loved one lives on in a better place. They deny completely the reality of death.  They ignore the Bible truth in favor of lies.

 

When I read Jesus saying to John that He is the FIRST and the LAST, that He was DEAD but is ALIVE- it truly is miraculous because He woke from death's sleep and came forth from the grave, His body had seen no corruption, His body had not begun any sort of decay. However, He didn't want to be touched at all until He'd gone to the Father.

 

Joh_20:17  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

 

He hadn't gone out of His body, His spirit hadn't left His dead body the moment He breathed His last and gone to heaven like people believe happens. He stayed in death's sleep until God raised Him from the grave, waking Him from death's sleep. Jesus interacted with others after waking from death, but it wasn't until He'd gone to heaven to see His Father and returned that He allowed others to touch Him.

 

Truly, Jesus' being DEAD and ALIVE is incredibly miraculous and this death and living after death has only been allotted to a few compared to the many, many, many millions, trillions of people that have lived and died.

 

Continuing on with the vision John was receiving from Jesus-

 

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 

 

Rev 2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 

Rev 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. 

 

To the second of the seven churches Jesus was leaving messages for-

 

He knows their works, He knows their tribulations, He knows their poverty… yet He knows they are rich. HE knows their blasphemy- those who call themselves Jews but are not, but are of the church of Satan himself!

 

They aren't to fear any of the things they suffer.

 

The devil would put some of them in prison, trying them for ten days (prophecy ten days- ten years?) but they would still be faithful until they died. If they died faithful they would get a crown of life from Jesus.

 

We have to listen, we have to hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. God's people will not be hurt in the second death- they will not be a part of the second death- the death from which there is no life after.

 

*******

 

Now, I want to take something from a previous study and copy it here- please take the time to read it.

 

'seIf, as we talked about already, the seven churches spoken of represent God's people throughout time- the period of time suggested by others who have studied Revelation for the first church- Ephesus is.. 'the period from the resurrection of Christ to the close of the first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles.' And the second church - Smyrna - 'the date of the Smyrna church would be A.D. 100-323.' The big question is….how did they come to this date?

 

Well first let's look at what's said.

 

'And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write...These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive'

 

John through the Spirit is writing to the angel of the people of God in Smyrna. The first, the last, which was dead and is alive- this could be none other than- Jesus.

 

'I know thy works and tribulation and poverty but thou art rich'

 

He knows the works- the actions of His people in Smyrna. He also knows their tribulation. He understands what they're going through. Tribulation. If I say I'm going through tribulation am I talking about a little bit of a hard time? No. I'm talking about a very hard time, a time of such suffering, of such affliction it doesn't compare to ordinary upsets. Jesus knows the actions, the works, and He knows of the intense suffering of those people. He also knows of their poverty- their deficiencies, unproductiveness, their lacking, but He also knows they are rich.

 

A conflict? Can one be in poverty and be rich at the same time? They sure can be if we are thinking along the lines of being poor in one thing while rich in another. You can have a person poor in finances and rich in optimism. Jesus knows it all- the suffering the poverty and the riches. We are told in the Bible this--

 

Matthew {19:24} And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

 

With this in mind it's easy to imagine the riches  spoken of here  as something other than monetary riches. 

 

These are  riches of God- heavenly treasure, not an earthly treasure.

 

Matthew {6:20} But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth

corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Heavenly riches.

 

A person can be rich in heavenly treasures and in extreme poverty upon the earth.

 

Yes, you can be rich in one thing and lacking in another. You can have a richness of love and a poverty of kindness. Jesus knows all of us, the good and the bad in us - His people throughout time.

 

'and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'

 

Blasphemy- 1. a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity. b. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.

2. An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.

Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary

 

There are those who claim to be God's but are really from where?

The 'synagogue of Satan.'

Devil worshippers who claim to be God's people.

God knows who those people are, and truly there are those in all ages who are guilty of this- of claiming to be God's people while their lives, their hearts, the truth says otherwise.

 

God doesn't want His people to fear things that will be suffered by them. Again in all ages we face suffering for our faith and yet we are to fear not.

 

The devil will put some of God's people in prison- those people will be tried and have tribulation ten days. Now this is where we have to ask ourselves a question- ten days? In prophecy days can stand for years. Is there any notable ten year period of tribulation for God's people?

 

There is...

'The Diocletianic Persecution (or Great Persecution) was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman empire.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution

 

In 303, Emperor Diocletian and his colleagues Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights and demanding they comply with traditional religious practices. Later edicts targeted the clergy and demanded universal sacrifice, ordering all inhabitants to sacrifice to the gods. The persecution varied in intensity across the empire—weakest in Gaul and Britain, where only the first edict was applied, and strongest in the Eastern provinces. Persecutionary laws were nullified by different emperors at different times, but Constantine and Licinius's Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution.'

 

303 to 313 - ten years!

 

The revelation was-

'the devil shall cast some of you into prison- that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days'

 

Ten days- Ten years of GREAT tribulation, great suffering, great persecution.

 

The prophecy goes on to say-

 

'be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'

 

Be faithful unto death. Telling them what? They would die! God's people, His church, would be persecuted to the death.

 

Faithful unto death. In truth we all throughout time must be faithful unto death, we must be determined to be God's until we die no matter what the cost might be. Faithful unto death.

 

The reward for such faithfulness is a crown of life! The crown of life given for those who receive life eternal in Jesus. The price is well worth the sacrifice to obtain such a priceless gift.

 

We are told once more--

 

'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches'

 

LISTEN!

 

And the promise-

 

'He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death'

 

Meaning the death that is eternal- the death that comes when the 1000 years in heaven with Jesus are over and evil and sin are wiped out of existence the death of all those who are evil and are destroyed forever- that death will not hurt those who are God's faithful.

 

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years

 

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

Rev 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 

May God bless and keep us through the tribulations we have and will have, may we remain faithful unto Him forever. May the second death not hurt any of us as we seek life in Jesus, our Lord and Savior now and forever!

 

Amen'

 

First Love - Jesus

Jesus in this miraculous vision given to John is telling John what to write down.

 

In the vision, Jesus is has seven stars in His right hand and is standing in the middle of seven candlesticks. We are told by Jesus that the stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.

 

Jesus is at the center of the perfect church, of this there can be no doubt whatsoever. These followers of Christ- for that is what a church is made up of- Christ followers- they need the messages Christ has for them. The angel of the church is a messenger, angels are messengers, and they are to take messages of Christ written to them, and give them to their churches. Christ did not give these messages for private use- all are to read, to understand, and to keep the things written in this book. These messengers have an obligation to give the message to those in need of it. To the very first of the churches in this seven church structure they need the following message and in turn- WE NEED THIS MESSAGE, and throughout time this message would be needed and pertinent. The multi-use of the message is not something strange at all. So much of God's entire written word to us has messages for the present when they were written and throughout the future. God's word is something powerful and as such we don't dare try to constrain it by our limited comprehension.

 

*

 

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 

 

Jesus tells them that HE knows their works, their labor, their patience. Jesus knows they hate evil. Jesus knows that they try those who claim to be important Christ followers and because they try(test) them they realize they are not true important followers of Christ, but liars.  Jesus tells them that He knows of their patience and their work they do for Him, and their not fainting as they work.  Jesus knows all the good things they do for Him as being His followers. Recognizing the good from this church Jesus is giving them praise for their efforts but He can't stop there at the praise to do so would be to risk the church failing by not recognizing its own peril.

 

Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 

Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 

 

Jesus has some issue with His followers, they have left their first love. They have lost sight of their first love. Their first love being- Christ crucified and risen, the salvation offered by grace through Christ's sacrifice- this is the first love of all Christ followers.

 

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 

 

Jesus wants these followers to remember where they were in their relationship with Him and He wants them to repent. He wants them to comprehend their wrong path and give that up. He wants them to do as they did in the beginning of their following Him.  If they don't do this, if they don't repent and return to their origins then He will have no choice but to quickly go to them and keep this church as being His, it would no longer be a church of Christ's unless they repent.

 

Yes, they hate the actions of those who are known to be hated by true Christ followers, and this is a good thing, but it doesn't mean they don't need to repent. Christ hates the deeds of the ones called Nicolaitans and from what can be garnered through the Bible and historical writings, the Nicolaitans were a false Christ following group that held pagan practices that God has forever despised.

 

Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

Rev 2:6  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 

 

Jesus wants these that follow Him to remember Him as they first came to Him, and to repent of their turning from their beginning ways, their first love of Him. If they listen, if they repent and return to their first love of Him they will overcome and in overcoming they will be allowed to eat of the tree of life which is in the middle of God's paradise.

 

Rev 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 

 

Truly this message is applicable for all who come to Christ.

 

Even now so many people start out following Christ only to start to follow the paths of others makings, not Christ's. So many leave their first love of Christ and fall in love with the ways of man. So many hate the deeds of those who are known Christ haters, God despisers, and even hate the deeds if they are known as blatantly contradictory to God's words though the professors of these deeds are supposed Christ followers. Yet, so many refuse to overcome, refuse to repent of their ways and return to Christ, and Christ only.

 

May we who read this message to the church, today, repent of all that would keep us from our first love, Christ. Let Him be first, before all others in all things in our lives, let Him be first. Don't let a single other human being, don't let a single other practice instituted by man and not fully sanctioned by Christ to keep us from Him, repent, turn away from all things that would keep us from Christ, all things! Please, Lord Jesus, we repent! We need You as our first love, not and forever!!!!!!! Please forgive our wandering ways, forgive our arrogance, forgive our trying to substitute Your ways with ours, forgive us for being seduced away to love others that are mere imitations of You and Your love! Save us, Lord Jesus, save us!  Thank you!!!!!!! Thank you!

 

All glory, honor and praise to You, Lord now and always!!!!!!! 

Write What Was, What Is, What Will Be.

John saw Jesus when he turned around. The vision before him was something quite spectacular. Try to picture it as you read…

 

Rev 1:13  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. 

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength

 

SON OF MAN - JESUS

Mat_8:20  And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the SON OF MAN hath not where to lay his head.

Mat_9:6  But that ye may know that the SON OF MAN hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

 

Son of Man- Jesus- standing in the middle of seven candlesticks.

Jesus - dressed completely- a robe and a golden girdle about His person.

Jesus - His hair white like wool, white as snow.

Jesus - His eyes like fire.

Jesus - His feet like burning brass.

Jesus - His voice loud, reverberating.

Jesus - Seven stars in His right hand.

Jesus - Out of his mouth- a sharp, TWO-EDGED SWORD.

 

Eph 6:17  … the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any TWOEDGED SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

 

At this glorious sight John fainted.

 

Rev 1:17  And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

 

Jesus then touched John with His right hand, the hand holding seven stars, and He spoke to John.

 

Rev 1:17… And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me,

 

Jesus said-

Rev 1:17… Fear not; I am the first and the last 

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

Rev 1:19  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

 

Jesus didn't want John frightened, He told John that He was the first and the last, the one that lived and died, and lives now forever. Jesus told John that He held the keys of the grave and death. What amazing truths. Surely John was comforted upon hearing that this miraculous being before Him was none other than His Savior! And His Savior had come to him now after all these years and wanted him to write down what he had seen, things that were right then and things that would be at another time- prophecy- the future.

 

Having comforted John and reiterating the reason for the vision- Jesus wasted no time but began to tell John more of what he would need to write.

 

Those seven stars that John had seen in Jesus hand, and the seven golden candlesticks Jesus had been standing in the middle of were both symbols of something else.

 

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. 

 

Seven stars- seven angels of the seven churches.  What seven churches- the ones mentioned just a few verses ago. The churches of perfect symbolism - the perfect church.

 

Prophecy. Stars-Angels. Candlesticks-Churches.  Jesus surrounded by the churches symbolizing the church He would have perfected, with angels to be with the church as it perfected.

 

More tomorrow by the grace and will of our LORD!

 

 

Heavenly Vision.

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks

 

John hadn't turned when he heard the voice like a trumpet behind him, but after the message was given- Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, 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. 

 

John turned around to look.  Had he been too scared to turn instantly? Startled? It wouldn't be surprising if he was scared. He did turn though and this is what he saw…

 

…And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks

 

Exo 25:37  And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 

 

There are seven lamps in the temple God told Moses to make from the example of the heavenly temple. There are seven lamps (candlesticks) in the heavenly temple. John in the Spirit is seeing a vision of the heavenly temple.

 

Rev 1:13  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. 

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 

 

Jesus ascended to heaven to do what….

 

Mar 16:19  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 

 

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

 

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 

 

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

 

Zec_6:13  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

 

Jesus ascended to heaven where our heavenly Father resides. There in heaven is a temple, a temple that was the example for the earthly temple. Jesus as our High Priest ministers in the heavenly temple.

 

That John was given a vision of Jesus in the heavenly temple is not surprising.

 

Rev 1:13  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. 

Rev 1:14  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 

Rev 1:15  And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength

 

Jesus, the Son of man. What a wondrous vision of our Savior. Such wonder, such majesty, so incredibly amazing. Can we imagine John seeing this miraculous sight, this vision.

 

More on all this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

 

 

 

A Voice Like A Trumpet.

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 on the Lord's day- and - he heard behind him a great voice… like a trumpet. A voice like a trumpet. I've heard a trumpet before, as most of us have and they can be very loud. To hear a voice like a trumpet, a great voice, how startling that must have been to hear coming from behind you. I have a feeling I would have jumped a foot into the air if a voice like that sounded behind me.  Have you ever been startled by someone speaking to you from behind you where you can't see them there? I know I have. I've seen people jump slightly from being startled by my speaking from behind them when they don't expect me to be there.

 

John heard this impressive voice, a voice obviously coming from no one he may have been used to hearing. He was exiled to Patmos according to tradition and according to early historians, a very small island, and the chance that there were a lot of people there is very slim. Was he completely alone? I doubt that he was the only person on the island but of those who may have been there they wouldn't have had voices such as the voice of trumpet that John heard.

 

This voice commanded immediate attention.

 

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

 

The Alpha and Omega.

 

The First and the Last.

 

This person was the First and Last! Who lays claim to such a thing?

 

Isa 41:4  …I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 

 

Isa 44:6  Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 

 

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 

 

The LORD was speaking to John, not an angel in this particular verse, but the LORD. And the Lord told John- What he sees he has to write down in a book. After it's written John has to send it to the seven churches in Asia.  Now we've already talked about the fact there were more than seven churches in Asia, but Jesus using the number of perfection, of wholeness, of completeness chose seven of those churches to receive these messages personally. All the churches would eventually hear the words, all would need to hear them. All who desire a blessing need to hear these words.

 

Jesus said the book was to go to - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

 

John knew these churches, John understood this book was meant to go far and wide to all seven churches, to the people filling those churches in need of the revelation about to be given to them.

 

To be continued…

 

 

John- In the Spirit.

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, the apostle of Jesus Christ. John our brother. John our companion in tribulation. John our companion in the kingdom. John our companion in patience of Jesus Christ.   John who was in the island of Patmos because of Jesus- the word of God, for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

 

There can be no doubt that John is introducing himself here as one who is relatable to all who follow Christ Jesus. John lives for Jesus His Savior. John is on an Island and this is what we know of the Island Patmos.

 

('Patmos (Greek: Πάτμος, pronounced [ˈpatmos]) is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is perhaps best known today as the location the disciple John received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written.

 

The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, by most biblical historians, he is considered to be exiled as a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian.[1][2]') 

 

John perhaps exiled to this island and it is here that he is given Jesus' Revelation.

 

Rev 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day…

 

John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

 

Now this deserves a more in-depth study and for that we need to read from a Biblical scholar- 

 

The following is taken from the book- Daniel and Revelation written by Uriah Smith.

 

'p 367 -- On the Lord's Day. - What day is intended by this designation? On this question four different positions are taken by different classes.

 

1. One class hold that the expression "the Lord's day" covers the whole gospel dispensation, and does not mean any particular twenty-four-hour day.

2. Another class hold that the Lord's day is the day of judgment, the future "day of the Lord," so often brought to view in the Scriptures.

3. The third view, and the one perhaps the most prevalent, is that the expression refers to the first day of the week.

4. Still another class hold that it means the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord.

 

1. To the first of these positions it is sufficient to reply that the book of Revelation is dated by the writer, John, in the Isle of Patmos, and upon the Lord's day. The writer, the place where it was written, and the day upon which it was dated, have each a real existence, and not merely a symbolical or mystical one. But if we say that the day means the gospel dispensation, we give it a symbolical or mystical meaning, which is not admissible. Besides, this position involves the absurdity of making John say, sixty-five years after the death of Christ, that the vision which he records was seen by him in the gospel dispensation, as if any Christian could possibly be ignorant of that fact!

 

2. The second position, that it is the day of judgment, cannot be correct; for while John might have had a vision concerning the day of judgment, he could not have had one on that day when it is yet future. The word translated on is en (en), and is defined by Robinson when relating to time, as follows: "Time when; a definite point or period, in, during, on, at, which anything takes place." It never means about or concerning. Hence they who refer it to the judgment day either contradict the language used, making it mean concerning instead of on, or they make John state a strange falsehood, by saying that he had a vision upon the Isle of Patmos, nearly eighteen hundred years ago, on the day of judgment which is yet future!

 

3. The third view is that by "Lord's day" is meant the first day of the week, a view by far the most generally entertained.

 

p 368 -- On this we inquire for the proof.

 

What evidence have we for this assertion? The text itself does not define the term Lord's day; hence if it means the first day of the week, we must look elsewhere in the Bible for the proof that that day of the week is ever so designated. The only other inspired writers who speak of the first day at all, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul; and they speak of it simply as "the first day of the week." They never speak of it in a manner to distinguish it above any other of the six working days. And this is the more remarkable, viewed from the popular standpoint, as three of them speak of it at the very time when it is said to have become the Lord's day by the resurrection of the Lord upon it, and two of them mention it some thirty years after that event.

 

If it is said that the term "Lord's day" was the usual term for the first day of the week in John's day, we ask, Where is the proof of this?

 

It, cannot be found.

 

But we have proof of just the contrary.

 

If this was the universal designation of the first day of the week at the time the Revelation was written, the same writer would most assuredly call it so in all his subsequent writings. But John wrote the Gospel after he wrote the Revelation, and yet in that Gospel he calls the first day of the week, not Lord's day, but simply "the first day of the week." For proof that the Gospel was written at a period subsequent to the Revelation, the reader is referred to such standard authorities as the Religious Encyclopedia, Barnes's Notes (Gospels), Bible Dictionaries, Cottage Bible, Domestic Bible, Mine Explored, Union Bible Dictionary,Comprehensive Bible, Paragraph Bible, Bloomfield, Dr. Hales, Horne, Nevins, and Olshausen.

 

And what still further disproves the claim here set up in behalf of the first day, is the fact that neither the Father nor the Son has ever claimed the first day as his own in any higher sense than he has each or any of the other laboring days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it, or

 

p 369 -- attached any sanctity to it. If it was to be called the Lord's day from the fact of Christ's resurrection upon it, Inspiration would doubtless have somewhere so informed us. But there are other events equally essential to the plan of salvation, as, for instance, the crucifixion and the ascension; and in the absence of all instruction upon the point, why not call the day upon which either of these occurred, the Lord's day, as well as the day upon which he rose from the dead?

 

4. The three positions already examined having been disproved, the fourth - that by Lord's day is meant the Sabbath of the Lord - now demands attention. And this of itself is susceptible of the clearest proof.

 

1. When God gave to man in the beginning six days of the week for labor, he expressly reserved the seventh day to himself, placed his blessing upon it, and claimed it as his holy day.

2. Moses told Israel in the wilderness of Sin on the sixth day of the week, "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." We come to Sinai, where the great Lawgiver proclaimed his moral precepts in awful grandeur; and in that supreme code he thus lays claim to his hallowed day: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: ... for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." By the prophet Isaiah, about eight hundred years later, God spoke as follows: "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on MY HOLY DAY, ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord," etc. Isa. 58:13. We come down to New-Testament times, and He who is one with the Father declares expressly, "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Can any man deny that that day is the Lord's day, of which he has emphatically declared that he is the Lord? Thus we see that whether it be the Father or the Son whose title is involved, no other day can be called the Lord's day but the Sabbath of the great Creator.

 

One more thought, and we leave this point. There is in this dispensation one day distinguished above the other days of the week as the Lord's day. How completely does this great

p 370 -- fact disprove the claim put forth by some that there is no Sabbath in this dispensation, but that all days are alike. And by calling it the Lord's day, the apostle has given us, near the close of the first century, apostolic sanction for the observance of the only day which can be called the Lord's day, which is the seventh day of the week. '

 

John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day.

 

How wondrous it is to be in the Spirit. John was in the Spirit and I believe it's safe to say that He was in the Spirit a lot. That being in the Spirit was perhaps typical for Him but not perhaps when He was in the Spirit did He have visions and hear voices and such. This day however He was blessed with something extremely magnificent, something He was given so in turn he could give it to all mankind. May we be blessed as we continue to read, to understand, and keep all that is said.

All by the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST now and forever!!!!!!!

The Lord Which Is, Which Was, Which Is to Come.

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. 

 

'The Biblical View of God

 

As one opens his Bible, the first statement that he reads is a revelation of God. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). However, the Hebrew word - Elohim - for "God" is plural. The use of the plural form is considered by Judaism as the pluralis majestatis - the majestic plural. It is used in this first chapter of Genesis with singular verbs and in other Old Testament texts with singular adjectives thus strengthening the concept of the majestic plural usage.

 

The last Gospel, and possibly the last book written of the New Testament canon, gives the answer to the question. "Elohim" is a plural - there are Two. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2). However, before John concludes his Gospel narrative, he introduces "another Comforter, ... the Spirit of truth" (14:16-17). Further, the Word came to be flesh (σαρχ εγενετο) and dwelt among men, a full revelation of grace and truth (1:14). Twice in this prologue, the Word in the flesh is described as "the only begotten" (μονογενηζ - one of a kind) (1:14, 18). From this point on in the gospel of John, the Word is designated as either "the Son of God" (1:34), or by His self designation, "the Son of man" (3:14).

 

It is evident beyond question, that the great divide in both time and eternity is the incarnation of the Word. This not only had consequences for the Word Himself, but also for the Godhead. No question about God can be accurately or truthfully answered without consideration of the factor of the Incarnation. Today, in the Adventist Community, the theological agitation over God has again been raised. The regular Church by its own action in General Conference session (Dallas, 1980) adopted the Nicene Creed formula - "There is one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit." The reaction among some of the peripheral groups in the Community has been to take an anti-Trinitarian stance.

 

First, we must note a question raised by the anti-Trinitarian position; and this in the light of the Gospel of John. John begins his Gospel stating that the Word was "in the beginning with God" (1:2). Now the question: Was He truly "in the beginning with God" or was He derived from God at some point in the eternity past? As far as I am able to understand from what has been written in current anti-Trinitarian literature, it is on this point that the present agitation finds common ground with the Nicene Creed. Both have Jesus Christ, prior to His incarnation, a "derived Being."

 

The Nicene Creed reads - "I believe ... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Farther before all worlds, ... begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father." (The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. II, p. 58) On the other hand, I have read and heard those taking an anti-Trinitarian stance state that the Word was "birthed" at some point in eternity past even as "Abraham begat Isaac." This position is difficult for many other anti-Trinitarians to "swallow," and they chose to express it as E. J. Waggoner did: - "There was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God, from the bosom of the Father, but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning." (Christ and His Righteousness, pp. 21-22) Whether expressed as in the Nicene Creed, or as stated by E. J. Waggoner, the conclusion is obvious, the Word is a derived Being, and therefore, is not co-eternal, or ever-existent. Thus the name - I Am - affirmed to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3: 14), and claimed by the incarnate Word in the Temple (John 8:58), would be a false assumption.

 

The name - I AM (εγω ειμι) - a verbal form, conveys self-existence and ever-existence. This concept is attested in other New Testament references:    1) Heb 1:3 - "Who being (ων - present active participle of ειμι - "to be") the brightness of His glory." He did not come to be that brightness (εγενετο - as in John 1:14 - "came to be flesh"), but was (ην), as in John 1:1, the "brightness of His glory."    2) Rev. 1:17-18 - Literally - "I am the first and the last, even the Living One (και 'ο ζων) and became dead, and behold living I am (ζων ειμι) into the ages of the ages." This Living One proclaimed himself in the same language as the Almighty. Compare the self declaration (Revelation 1:8) - "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and

 

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the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" - with a great voice "as a trumpet," which John heard proclaiming - "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (verse 11). Turning to see whose voice he heard, John testifies, I saw "one like unto the Son of man" (ver. 13). In the final chapter of the book the same self proclamation is given - "I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (22:13).

 

The Biblical conclusion cannot be muted. The pre-existent Word was underived. He was in the beginning with God, and God in His own right. There never was a time in the eternity of the past that He was not. But not only was the Eternal Word underived but in Him was life original and unborrowed.

 

John's major epistle begins with the same emphatic pronouncement as his gospel, but more so. He wrote - "The One who was from the beginning ('ο ην απ ' αρχηζ)" we heard, we've seen with our eyes, we have touched with our hands - even "The Logos of the Life" (περι του λογου τηζ ξωηζ) (1:1). Note it is a specific "life" - "the Life" (η ζων). John comments, it was manifest, we saw it, and bear witness to you that this eternal life (την ζωην την αιωνιον) was with the Father (ην προ τον πατερα) not εν (in), nor εκ (out of) but προζ - "a plane of equality and intimacy, face to face with each other" - Robertson) even as he twice wrote in the Gospel - "the Word was with God (προζ τον θεον) the same was in the beginning with God" (1:1-12). The "eternal life" manifest in "the Logos of Life" was original, unborrowed, even as the Logos was Himself underived.'  WWN 03/2000

 

*******

 

We have to comprehend that Jesus always existed as God with God, always. We also have to comprehend that Jesus always will exist as God with God. Yes, Jesus took on flesh, Jesus emptied Himself to take on flesh, but never ceased being God, not for a moment. He became Immanuel, God with us. He emptied Himself of His previous God form to take on flesh, and the miraculous being He became was one that could in all points be tempted like we are, He could feel as we feel, He learned as we learned, He interacted with other as we do. Did He perform miracles? Yes, after He began His ministry and faced the worst temptation a person could ever face in the wilderness for forty days and night and then He began to bring the gospel- the good news of salvation, of the kingdom of heaven to mankind. Jesus took on flesh and in the flesh He was put to death. Jesus was resurrected in the flesh and Jesus returned to heaven in the flesh. Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting. This is so incredibly amazing to contemplate.

 

May God bless us as we continue to read, to know, to keep all He would have us read, know, and keep.

 

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

 

Rev 1:17  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: 

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

 

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 

 

Rev 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 

 

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

 

Isa 41:4  Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. 

 

Isa 43:10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 

 

Isa 44:6  Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 

 

Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

 

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 4:8  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 

 

Rev 11:17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 

 

Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 

 

Rev 19:15  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 winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

 

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 

 

Gen 17:1  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 

 

Gen 28:3  And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

 

Gen 35:11  And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins

 

Gen 43:14  And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. 

 

Gen 48:3  And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 

 

Gen 49:25  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb

 

Exo 6:3  And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. 

 

Num 24:4  He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open

 

Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

 

2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.