Saturday, November 22, 2008

Revelation of John - Let's begin

Revelation of John

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Dreams are valuable both from a spiritual and a psychological point of view. They are the part of the sleep cycle that happens right before awakening, and thus can be recalled with vividness, at least for a short time.

Visions are usually considered spiritual revelations and are often thought to be dreams in an awakened state. The difference is valuable, but can bring about similar insights. I have had many dreams that have helped me understand my present situation, and many that has given me a spiritual step up. Have you had such experiences that you would like to share?

John, the youngest of the original disciples of Jesus, was a prisoner on the island of Patmos when he was given a vision, perhaps many visions, of the end times and of heaven. It seems that many have a renewed interest in interpreting the Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.

John had known about all of the other disciples dying for their Lord, and of many others who were severely persecuted for their faith in Jesus as Lord and Messiah. It was at this time of isolation and uncertainty that he was given this revelation for the people of God at that time, throughout the hard times over the centuries, and for us today. Are we the last generation before Jesus returns? Perhaps yes, and perhaps no. No matter, the warnings and the strong words of comfort pushes us forward to the high calling.

John addresses the seven churches of his time. Before he gets too deep into visions and other worldliness, he offers blessings and hope to all, whether or not they are on the correct path. His earthly sight, as well as his visions, are on JESUS. Let us focus on Jesus:

Revelation 1:4-8
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed[a] us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings[b] and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”[c] says the Lord,[d] “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

First, John bestows blessings, which we all have a right to give to one another. Grace, which is undeserved gifts, and peace, which is difficult in persecution and uncertainty.

Skip down to verse 5 and see the assurance that Jesus loves so much that He cleansed from the worst offenses by paying with a criminal’s humiliating death on the cross. Christian Friend, never permit yourself to sanitize the cost of salvation. Death and red Blood pouring out are the requirements for sin.

People who are redeemed through the blood sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb of God are made into priests and kings inside God’s very real kingdom. John, and many of these folks were poor and made wretched for the sake of the Gospel. They needed to see how God sees them. So do we.

With that in mind, look at these initial descriptions of Our Lord. He is still:

He who is and who was and who is to come
Faithful witness
The firstborn from the dead
Ruler over the kings of the earth
Loves us
Cleansed us from our sins with His own blood
Made us kings and priests
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end
The Almighty

If we focus on these true words concerning The Almighty, we can put one foot in front of the other even on the most difficult times. We can praise Him and have hope in His Kingdom, of which we belong.

Verse 7 assures us that BEHOLD He is coming. All will see Him, even those who pierced Him.

Keep on keeping on and look expectantly, for soon He will come and take you home. Take the gifts of grace and peace to help you trod the road ahead.

14 comments:

Tamela's Place said...

Hello Vicki,

Yes and amen all will see Him!

Thankyou for your encouraging words. I can keep putting one foot in front of the other because i know my Jesus Lives and He is always with me even unto the very end! :)

Vicki said...

Thank you, Tamela,
I've had difficulty in posting a response to you. Know that my true affection and prayers are with you. I know that you trust Jesus and are walking daily with knowledge of the salvation that He has so freely given to us.

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Christian Friend, never permit yourself to sanitize the cost of salvation. Death and red Blood pouring out are the requirements for sin.

Very true.

Keep on keeping on and look expectantly, for soon He will come and take you home. Take the gifts of grace and peace to help you trod the road ahead.

Yes, believers can look forward to being in the Lord's presence.

I am reminded that individuals outside of Christ can be judged in part, in Hades, although not the final judgment of Revelation 20, and so judgment is being issued for sin in part every time one of these dies outside of Christ.

In a sense partial judgment is going on through time.

Thanks, Vicki.

Russ:)

jeleasure said...

Hi hun,
nice word, as usual. You always have encouraging words.
I have also seen a trend to how people seem interested in Revelation.

We dream when we fall into sleep. Also, dreams help us to stay chemically balanced. In our dreams, we seem to create scenerios that allow us to counterballance what stress (eustress and distress) we have experienced. I believe, that when I was having trouble sleeping, the inability to think clearly, coupled with a thyroid disorder was due to not being able to sleep and dream.

Vicki said...

Hi Russ,
I am so amazed at how you keep up with so many bloggers. And you always have such lovely things to say. Keep being "Barnabas" encourager.
Your blogs are interesting, and you always put something humorus.
Blessing,
Vicki

Vicki said...

Hi Jim, Darling,
Yes, when you weren't yourself because of your thyroid imbalance,you couldn't sleep, nor have the peace of permiting your mind produce peace through dreaming. Dreams are important for physical and emotional health as well as a means for God to speak to us.
I'm glad you are feeling better.
Love Always,
Vicki

jeleasure said...

Hi Hun,
I realize you are not covering this topic on your blog. However, we Christians have a responsibility to live in peace and promote peace.

Obama's born Conspiracy
The link above will take you to a blog from one of the analyst who determined Barak Obama's Certificate of Live Birth to be a forged copy. The blog will tell you exactly what he did to discover the fraud and display the evidence. It took me nearly two hours to get through this.
Give credit to Christine of Talk Wisdom for sending this on to me.
Sean, I believe if you ask your readers to take this link, and distribute it to as many people as they possibly can, we may be able to avoid a race war which the mainstream media is setting us up for by not reporting the story as it unfolds. What we can do is soften the shock and ease anger before the possibility of The SCOTUS announcing they will try the case.

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Hmm, thanks very much Vicki.

Part of it is that I do not 'reinvent the wheel' so to speak. I let my blogs serve as source for material which I can reuse and reword over time as the same topics come up again and again.

Russ

Gigi said...

Yes, come soon Lord Jesus...

Vicki said...

Hi Russ, Gigi, and Jim,
I'm putting this into one response because I don't want to falsely think that I am getting oodles more responses than I actually am.
Russ, anyone who comes to my site should drop by yours also, which is linked. I will be looking at anything new you might have new tonight.
Gigi, blessings to you, Dear One. I am praying for you, especially in the wee hours of the quiet night. Jesus is coming back, and sometimes it just seems too long.
Jim, I have noticed more peace in your life. You are becoming stronger in your faith as you meditate and study.
We are both concerned about our present situation in our country. Passing to others important information is a privilege and necessity. But even more important, prayer changes things. Prayer puts power behind our actions.
By the way, from my home page, there are links to Gigi and Jim's sites also.
Love and Blessings,
Vicki

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Thanks Vicki.

I reason more comments often equals more interest when someone surfs by. I would at least advise persons to not have a bunch of zeros with comments.

Your support is much appreciated.

Russ:)

jeleasure said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Maryb said...

HI Vicki

I was reading you profile YOu teach piano. so do I . I love teaching. IN fact that is what Im off to do right now. Have a full day. God Bless You

Tikno said...

You have an inspired blog. Keep the faith.

Great Grandfather Humes

Great Grandfather Humes
Great Grandfather, Charles Humes, started the family interest in trucks. He is in the center of the picture and Great Grandmother, Eva Humes, is to the left of him.