Our study of Revelation penetrates the nature of man. It turns our spotlight inward revealing finite frailty in humanity, and by contrast, glorifying a revelation of Jesus Christ within our own personal experience, even while wearing our container of fleshly clay.
Revelation is a revealing of Jesus Christ. This is not only the label written on the letter itself, it is the summation of man’s experience on earth. Verse one of Revelation 1 begins like this: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The word Revelation is the Greek word apokalupis meaning to uncover or reveal. Revelation is the revealing of who Jesus Christ is, both as Man and God, in heaven and on earth!
This means the eternality of created man’s experience will be an uncovering with God Himself. We will enter His presence as His redeemed son and friend or rejected in response to our rejection of Him, eternal separation!
Judgment is already passed! Our is to accept His grace, His love and mercy or accept the eternal wages for our own pride and foolish wisdom.
John sees in Revelation 1 the glorified Jesus. This glorified image pierces each and every church, one by one, with an application of this glorified image. It is rendered more fully as an ascribed application in each epistle to the 7 specific churches. It also exhorts us individually, as believers, to conquer, to be overcomers, regardless of our exacting circumstances and often because of them!
Ephesus: To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. -Revelation 2:7b.
In Ephesus we find in their epistle they lost the passion of devotion which was theirs in the beginning. Their first love had become muted without the passion of burning purpose in their hearts. They became victims of their own inner self.
Smyrna: The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. -Rev. 2:11b.
In Smyrna, we know from history, it had a reputation for wickedness and opposition to first century Christianity. If you lived in Smyrna, you were signing up for persecution, suffering and loss of your property.
Pergamum: The one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. -Revelation 2:17b.
In Pergamum was the “throne” of Satan. A religious and scholarly city where man’s knowledge was etched on parchment instead of papyrus. It was the home of a huge library were was written the things of mankind. Reliance on self was a virtue.
Thyatira: The one who conquers and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. -Revelation 2:26-27.
In Thyatira Jesus is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man. In Christ there is not a higher authority; the local son of god, Apollo, was not THE son of god! Knowing who we are in Christ Jesus provides the strength to prevail.
Sardis: The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. -Revelation 3:5.
In Sardis there was a reputation, a “name” reminiscent of who Jesus is, but they were dead. Sardis had a form of godliness without its power. But in this setting were a faithful few who were overcomers. God was more important than human acceptance.
Philadelphia: The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. -Revelation 3:12.
In Philadelphia the Christians were betrayed on two fronts. Early Philadelphia experienced several devastating earthquakes. The rich volcanic soil created rich vineyards for fine grapes. But Rome also produced fine grapes so they literally ripped out the vineyards of Philadelphia destroying both an industry as wells as the income of the vineyard people. Rome betrayed their relationship with Philadelphia.
The early Christian church was seen as a sect of Judaism. The Jewish temples in Philadelphia welcomed Christians into their worship fellowship and were included on formal membership rolls in the temples. As the doctrine of Jesus became more familiar to Rome and the Jewish community, they were excluded from Jewish fellowship and shunned in the public community. The doors of fellowship were shut
to the faithful who looked to Jesus as the true God.
Laodicea: The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. -Revelation 3:21.
In Laodicea the church was self-sufficient and indifferent to the righteous demands of God’s holy person. Their callous heart blinded their hearts to the reality of spiritual essence. Jesus is knocking on their heart’s door waiting for a response.
Note: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” also appears in these seven epistles from our risen Jesus to each of the seven churches. However, in the first three epistles it appears before the overcomer statements of: ”The one who conquers.” In the last four epistles it appears after the ”The one who conquers” statement. This would seem to imply that spiritual “hearing” is required before “overcoming” but after “overcoming,” it is once again needed as we go forward in the “overcoming” process.
The task of overcoming varies by locations and circumstances. Our experiences are variable but the faithfulness of Jesus is constant and our grace is tailored to our every circumstance.
Viewing these separate churches in their historical context also magnifies the nature of fallen man and the corrosive effect sin has on vulnerable mankind. We need a Savior! Our creator God, faithful to His own creation, provides abundant grace into our solutions. But His grace is not operable unless we open our own heart’s door, to receive, to nurture and consume His loving divine agape love. His love and grace has been created within each person who is born again!
God’s grace is so much better than any other alternative! Yet, we walk around it rather than consuming the resurrection life Jesus lays on our table.
Human history unfolds mankind’s inadequacy to function as the creation He intends us to be! Mankind’s originating creator intended us to be in fellowship with Himself while enjoying the world He Himself provided for us. Instead, we do it our way! The higher our IQ, the higher our FQ (Foolish Quotient).
Grace is God’s answer to our dilemma of sin separation. Our solution is already installed into our soul making our corruption righteous in the blood of Jesus. By grace are we saved through faith, it is God’s gift to us!
Our Revelation study highlights our condition but also describes God’s remedy through the person of Jesus, the Son of God as well as Son of Man. While the dilemma of sin is reconciled, there is still the issue of overcoming and consuming existing grace being provided by our gracious Redeemer!
Revelation is a narrative of overcomers as well as judgement for the condemned who reject grace. But the consequences of sin in a believer’s culture also creates opportunity for the believer to grow his personal salvation. We can grow in grace!
Exploring the Life of God personally in this human boot camp of flesh enables our personal growth. We are, in fact, called to be lights shinning in this present darkness. It is our opportunity to grow both knowledge and grace in the intimacy of Jesus’ own Spiritual Life. We are administrators of His life, given to us, so that we become equipped as His ministers to others while walking earth in flesh.
A GraceNotes we wrote back in 2009 addresses this issue of our Knowing ourselves in Christ Jesus so that we might understand our walk in the light of Jesus. Here it is with a few editorial updates:
How do you know what you know?
Grace Notes, 01/25/09.
We just returned from a trip to Colorado Springs. My wife’s Aunt has dementia. No matter how much we may know about dementia, it is only a thimble full compared to walking through the experience. Helen was her emotionally closest relative. Yet, in her dementia condition, she dismissed Helen as hired help and looked down upon her with disdain.
This is a reminder of our frail humanity and our personal perception of reality. I don’t mean to sound metaphysical or abstract. The scripture makes a case for us understanding our identity in Christ Jesus inside our daily experiences. Knowing what our “born again” spiritual reality really is, is an issue!
Paul had a similar problem with the Christians in Corinth. Men came into the church during Paul’s absence and taught a legalistic gospel. They had so successfully challenged Paul’s authority that he was rebuffed by church leaders when he returned in person. Paul left the area and wrote them a letter which is lost to us but their response via Titus was repentance and also the motivation for Paul to write his third letter which we now have as 2Corinthians.
The culture of the Greeks during that day was one of boasting. It was not a matter of toleration, as in American culture, boasting was a prized skill. Men would meet in the common areas and cite their credentials to prove they were worthy and deserved to be respected. Boasting was an art and highly regarded. Appearance and correct speech were evidence of accomplishment and a superior mind. These were vulnerabilities for Paul. He was small, not very good looking and was not an orator.
“And when I came to you; brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, … my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, … that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.” -1Corinthians 2:1-5.
Most of us, fortunately, do not have to deal with dementia but Paul’s problem is common to us all. How do we judge what is authentic and how do we know whom to trust?
I was raised with the romantic notion that all those in power had authority because they were righteous and were the elected best of the best. I was “protected” and very naive.
Things have not changed but they are much more visible. “There is nothing new under the sun.” We are more informed but not more or less righteous. The history of civilization is replete with deceit, fraud and manipulation. Our society is fraught with man’s wisdom and it competes for support in our churches as well as our courts.
An informed person is not a changed person. A carnal person can come to understand scriptural doctrine, scriptural promises and an evangelical cultural without knowing Christ personally. We find such persons in churches and even in pulpits. They wend their ways into the hearts of forgiving Christians and sit next to them on church pews and church picnics.
A changed person is one who has a hunger for God. In fact, our changed person is one who has been birthed with a new nature. He has not been changed in the sense that he has been altered, or modified, rather, he is created new. It was to this fact that Nicodemus replied: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
This is the miracle of new birth. It is the mystery of Christ in you, (Colossians 1:27). This is not morality, tainted by human effort. This is not symbolic, it is not allegorical, it is, in fact, the eternal living life of the resurrected Jesus created in us by the creator of this temporal world and created universes. His life in us is manifested for others to witness.
We are containers of clay created in His image so that we may be in eternal fellowship with Him declaring His glory.
John Fletcher demonstrates from scripture, New Testament and Old, that new birth is accompanied with “spiritual senses.” The “born again” Christian is equipped with new knowledge written in the believer’s heart by the Spirit of God. It is not the result of imagination, it is not sentiment based on emotion, it is not feelings aroused by reason.
A veil of unbelief covers the heart of the unbeliever. At the point of regeneration, this veil of unbelief is rent, not removed, but torn so that the Son and His righteousness is revealed to be in us. The soul of the believer is created new! His soul is set free experiencing peace and joy only found in Jesus. He participates in the divine nature which is ours to nurture and grow a faith coming only from God Himself through His grace.
This reality is forged in the furnace of truth and the eternal verities of the Divine Trinity. Our perception of eternal reality too often rests upon fleeting feelings and assumptions conditioned in temporal experiences. The truth of this old world is relative and about as reliable as bumble bees that can’t fly but do anyway! We are suspect of absolute certainties because we have bought a pig in a poke too many times. It is best to train our soul in trusting Him who hung the worlds on nothing and designed the laws of nature upon which all of our natural world depends.
There are only two kinds of people in the world, those who are in Christ and those who are not. The prince of this world is the dominant influence operating under the permissive authority of God, (Greek vocabulary makes this clear). Those who are not in Christ are spiritually dead and do not have the spiritual senses John Fletcher describes.
Persons not in Christ are also spiritual beings, Satan Himself is a real spiritual being, but Satan is also spiritually dead in the Biblical sense. Yet, he knows how to appear to be spiritually alive. Spiritual counterfeiting is a favorite satanic tactic. He doesn’t appear with two horns and a spear, rather, he appears in forms of mercy and as an angel of light.
This puts the new born Christian in a challenging position. Our earthly soul has a worldly culture and is now prompted by an inner call to abandon the values and ways of life that have become normal and comfortable. At first the freshness of being new in Christ is compelling. As time passes, the daily grind wears on the soul; it is tempting to pick up on the old habits, to submit to the peer pressure of groups indulging in tactile objects providing social modality, being part of the group.
Behavior is not the primary problem, it is the energy driving behavior, it is the motivation. The Christian’s nature is in Christ Jesus and will produce light, good works, and the fruit of the Spirit if we nurture His life in us.
Our worldly culture rejects God’s truth and ridicules the gospel message. This tension in the believer’s soul is a challenge! The believer tries to balance his faith in Christ and live in a hostile world. Compromise may become more important than obedience.
Do not confuse this conflict as two inner natures warring against each other. This common teaching seems right but distorts the truth. The conflict is real but the believer has only one nature. The scripture is unequivocal concerning who we are in Christ, not only about our position, but also vitally important is the essence of our identity. We are literally in Him both as individuals as well as members in His body.
If we give the world, the flesh and the devil equal standing to our very nature in Christ, we profane the Blood of Christ! Further, it sets up our soul for failure, completely distorting the gospel message of righteous truth. The measure of our faith varies between persons but all who are in Christ Jesus are bound in a oneness by a jealous God who continues a work of resurrection power in each redeemed soul. Our conflict is in not discerning the resurrection power of Jesus in us!
It is true that we are in a war, but the outcome is determined. The believer’s nature is secured by Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus not only defeated death, He has made and continues to make the resources in His victory available to all those who are in Him. We have His resurrection power! Learning to walk possessing His resurrection power is vital.
The testimony of our living God is all around us. He is in the majesty of the high jagged mountain, in the trees that lift their arms upward. He is in the waves pounding rocks, and the flowing streams grinding stones into bits of sand. He is in the expanding universes reaching beyond the penetrating eyes of mankind. We have only to look within our own bodies to see the design of a master who links optics with neurons and mussel-mass, blood with brain cells, feelings, thoughts and reason, all integrated with a breath of life capable of love, work, imagination and creativity, all made in the image of the One for whom creation vitally exists. An accident? Evolution?
The non-believer has huge natural evidence plus the knowledge of truth within himself but he chooses to deny rather than see. But the believer, in Christ Jesus, has even a greater testimony! He has been given the gift of faith. He is reconciled into his God producing peace and joy within his own heart and soul.
The believer stands in God’s grace capable of a hope in Jesus beyond the experience and knowledge of the unbeliever. The rent veil of unbelief begins to be drawn back like a drapery on a rod, so that, the absolute light of righteous truth penetrates into mind and heart; the believer begins to perceive the glorious riches that are his in Jesus his Savior. This process of salvation reveals the fullness of Jesus in the believer so that mankind can witness the resurrection power of God in human life. We become His clay vessels for others to see.
“For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in (εν) His life.” -Romans 5:10 ASV.
The life of Jesus in the believer is not mere symbolism. This is where the greatest miracle takes place; it is physically manifested in a believer’s life. The hunger we have for things of God is the soul’s physical response to God’s Spirit within us. Our spirit is made alive to the things of God so that His Spirit will bear witness to our spirit concerning the life that is now ours in Christ Jesus. This “believer” person is a Saint, we are Saints!
A Saint is a person living within the reign of grace. The reign of sin has been replaced by the reign of grace, Romans 5:21. God makes grace a relationship.
Our growth in grace is sustained in our obedience to righteousness and truth written within our heart. The Spirit of God will respect our choice; we can change our soul by submitting to God’s truth. The more faithful we are in Him, the deeper and more intimate becomes our knowledge and relationship not with, but in God the Father through Jesus Christ.
“And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know we are in Him.”
-1 John 1:3-5.
It is His life in us, saving us while we are in this worldly system.
“The righteous shall live by his faith.” -Habakkuk 2:4b.
Paul uses this passage in Romans, Hebrews and Galatians. In Romans the emphasis is on righteousness, in Hebrews the emphasis is on faith, in Galatians the emphasis is on “shall live.” This lesson for the Galatians is germane for us here.
Paul established churches in Galatia (present day Turkey) on his first missionary journey. On his second missionary journey he lingered in Galatia for quite a while because he had a physical eye problem. This gave Paul extra time to teach the gospel so that they flourished in a Godly life.
Paul labored hard in the area of Galatia. He had suffered severe persecution throughout this area on his first missionary trip with Barnabas. You will recall that in Lystra, during the first missionary journey, he was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead.
Paul was emotionally jealous for these Galatian brethren. He was heavily vested in Galatia. Their health and welfare was as important to him as a parent might feel about their child. When Paul heard these churches were introducing legalistic Judaism into their culture, he became something close to livid. The letter written to these churches is full of fiery passion with very tough language. No other letter matches this one for strong colorful idiom. Remember, he had already encountered this problem in Corinth and was sensitive to the impact it could produce on their faith.
On the other hand, what harm could it do, really? True, he could be shunned like he was in Corinth but that is a personal issue. How could it harm them spiritually to submit to circumcision and other long held rituals that were part of Jewish tradition. After all, Peter and John, pillars of the church, personal apostles of Jesus Himself, observed these practices.
Our culture of today would call for toleration and respect for people to believe what they want. Why should we impose our particular brand of Christianity upon those who choose a different point of view? How subtle is self deception!
Paul was taught the gospel truth by Jesus Christ Himself. Paul’s case is clear evidence of the ministry work through the Holy Spirit. Paul was not an isolated case as John Fletcher clearly documents. Jesus Christ is the living life source for all righteous “born again” persons. This life source of righteousness is channeled through our gate of faith. Anything labeled as righteousness that is not of faith is sin. No matter how good it looks, no matter how moral it is, no matter how altruistic and harmless it is, if it is not of faith, it is not the expression of God’s righteous will for us individually.
Faith is not defined by the act itself. Two identical acts by two different persons can be sin for one and God’s righteousness for the other. The governing factor, the difference, is the motivation. In the one case, the motivation may be to make a moral choice. In the other case, our hypothetical person is being prompted by an inner voice urging the act because it is in God’s own wisdom in him, prompting him to make this choice. Judgment of these two persons rests in God Himself and perhaps, within the knowledge of the person performing the issue or deed.
Paul’s passion for both the Galatians and the Corinthians was for them to understand the distinction between life based upon what is seen and life based upon God’s unseen law written in a person’s heart. This is the difference between what is of faith and what is not. Remember the classic definition of faith from Hebrews 11.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen.” -Hebrews 11:1 RSV
Circumcision and unclean foods were visible things men and churches could manage. During my parent’s generation playing cards, movies, and wine were external manageable things. The idea was, if you could discipline external behavior your internal attitudes and desires could follow the same path. A new creation within us was not well understood!
The Judaizers of Paul’s day would have the Gentile men circumcised and all believers would have to keep all the Old Testament regulations including the Law of Moses. This is the very thing Jesus Himself condemned in the Pharisees. The gospel message removed the believer from rules and regulations demonstrating the futility of man’s own effort, giving them instead, into the resurrected life of Jesus.
The miracle of rebirth is created within a person by grace through faith. This new creation is the resurrection life of Jesus. Through our own personal choices, we walk in steps of God’s light or the dark choices of self. Paul said it best at the end of his letter to the Galatians: “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation,” Galatians 6:15. Circumcision choices are not new creation choices.
The teaching of Jesus took the Law of Moses to another level. He replaced the law and ordinances with His life. Instead of having external markers in people’s behavior, as evidence of one’s soul, God provided the righteousness of the law within the believer’s heart, so that he, the believer, himself becomes a priest with direct access to God. The believer is now able to allow the righteousness of God to change his soul so that men will see the life of Christ within us. Sacrifices for sin is no longer required because the life of Jesus is the sacrifice given on behalf of the believer! Jesus is the Lamb of God crucified for us!
This is the relationship where true freedom is found. This is the relationship for which we were and are designed. It is the way we are intended to be! We become complete in this state of oneness with God through Jesus our Savior and Lord. Why, Paul argues, would you leave this state of freedom and go back again to rules and regulations where you find yourself in slavery to a system and hierarchy!
Paul boldly and publicly confronted Peter on this issue. Peter, a Jew, ate foods with the Gentiles but when the Jewish community was present, he reversed his role and imposed the Jewish standard upon the Gentiles. This is the context for what is probably the most familiar verse in Galatians.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me,”
-Galatians 2:20 NAS.
This verse draws our attention to the means by which we are able to live in this relationship between God and man. It is by faith; this is the hinge pin holding the door open to our accessing righteousness and into the person of Jesus Himself. On the other hand, It is by a set of rules from the wisdom of men that we find ourselves in bondage; but Jesus now lives inside a person!
It is not just religious rules we are talking about. More pervasive are the secular rules that sap the power of Jesus’ life out of unsuspecting believers. It is the rules of self-indulgences where we find expression in temporal power, possessions, prestige and the self-indulgences of morality, self-improvement and image. These things are not bad, in and of themselves. That is the subtlety of it, we seek satisfaction of our self.
These are things that are materially seen! These are circumcision things. They may come as part of our faith package, but as human “things,” they do not express the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Poverty can be a good thing for a person who is in Jesus Christ!
You may recall our “I-It” vs. “I-Thou” discussion (Martin Buber). If these things come as a result of our “I-Thou” relationship, they are produced by His presence. If, on the other hand, they are produced by our own personal relationship to “it,” the thing or object, it is righteousness coming out of us and not out of our heavenly Father. It may seem to be a subtle difference, but it is the difference between resurrection power and the lack of it. One is by faith and the other is rooted in self.
Faith is an ambiguous term. It means many things to different people. We can’t spend the time required now to explore the meanings of faith but perhaps some will confuse “faith,” as a term, with “grace.” Faith is an act of our will, grace is God’s eternal provisions, the gift of faith toward us.
Typically, we look upon grace as a unilateral expression of God’s love toward man and faith as man’s unilateral response to God’s grace. This is not wrong, in fact, it is very right because faith itself is a gift from God.
People do not have the capacity to understand spiritual things without God’s enablement; this comes through His grace.
Faith is also the product of man’s belief, on a human level. In fact, the root word for faith and believe are the same Greek word. Faith is the Greek noun and believe is the Greek verb. Spiritual faith is the act of believing!
Spiritual faith is a gift requiring God’s grace both to receive and exercise. Grace, on the other hand, is available in proportion to man’s belief and obedience or disobedience. God is dispositioning grace upon us constantly. It is inherent within His agape love; it is constantly abiding with and in us. He is constantly working in us even during our spiritual unconsciousness, if we are in Christ Jesus.
This is why we frame grace in terms of a relationship. Grace is also God’s means to correct and discipline us. The bottom line for the Galatians, the Corinthians and us, is this: it is all of God and nothing from us except to believe and trust, “lean not on you own understanding.” In answer to a question we can hear coming; yes, believing is by grace.
Circumcision and unclean foods were things in the culture of Paul’s day one could substitute for faith. Man’s propensity for tangibles is infectious. Our soul is conditioned by temporal objects. We attach value to things and then pursue them as though they would satisfy an elusive longing always beyond our successes. At the end of each quest, either pride or emptiness is our prize. The soul becomes hardened with repetitive successes of pride reducing the ear’s capacity to hear Spiritually. The soul seeing Spiritually with the resurrection power of Jesus, is being disciplined by grace (not faith) and being filled with fruit from the Spirit of God, Galatians 5:16-26.
Jesus is the source for our fragrance, the force driving the winds. We enjoy both the beauty and the smell of the flower; we enjoy the force of waves pounding on the coast line. They speak of who God is and glorify Him in ways that can’t be captured with either words, or a scent or a sound. He is a person mindful of our finite limitations and is salve for our wounds, and a voice of approval to the son who comes home. His glory is our glory. He calls us to enjoy His presence, to share His abundance, to be partakers of His divine nature.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” -Jude 24-25 NAS.
“Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior, trying to follow our savior and King;
Shaping our lives by His blessed example, Happy, how happy, the songs that we bring.
Pressing more closely to Him who is leading, When we are tempted to turn from the way;
Trusting the arm that is strong to defend us, Happy, how happy, our praises each day.
Walking in the footsteps of gentle forbearance, Footsteps of faithfulness, mercy and love;
Looking to Him for the grace freely promised, Happy, how happy our journey above.
Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior, Upward, still upward we’ll follow our guide;
When we shall see Him, “the King in His beauty,” Happy, how happy, our place at His side.
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, stepping in the light, stepping in the light;
How beautiful to walk in the steps of the Savior, Led in paths of light.”