85. COME UP HITHER

85. COME UP HITHER

Revelation 4:1-2: “After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”

Here we have the beginning of the second of the four visions of the Book of Revelation. The first vision began in chapter one verse ten, this one in chapter four verses one and two, the third in chapter seventeen verse three, and the fourth in chapter twenty-one verse ten. Each of these beginnings contain the phrase “in the Spirit.” 

The first person pronouns, “I”, and "me" in this passage are the writer, John, not the Church, as is so often interpreted. It was John who 'looked' and 'beheld' and 'heard' the voice. John is writing what he has seen, heard and experienced. There is no basis here for interpreting this verse as a reference to the "rapture of the Church," as is so often taught. (We will deal with the "rapture of the Church" when we get to chapter 18:4.) 

John was invited to "come up hither" by the "first voice which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet." (RSV) This refers to the voice mentioned in Revelation 1:10 when John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." We do not know whether or not John was raptured bodily to heaven at this time, but we do know that he was "in the Spirit."

It was necessary for him to "come up hither" in order to see the things of the Spirit. We should understand that "in the Spirit" it was the "Day of the Lord"; it does not necessarily mean it was the Sabbath in the natural, but rather the "Day of the Lord" as is so often spoken of in the Old Testament Scriputres. [See my commentary on Revelation 1:10.] By the same token, the things John saw, he saw "in the Spirit" not in the natural state of consciousness.

Many times the Lord called His prophets to a natural mountain in order to give them a new perspective on the world. Moses was called to Sinai to receive the Law and to Nebo to view the Promised Land and to give Israel warning of the future trials. Elijah also was called back to Sinai to hear the still small voice of the Lord. Israel established its temple upon a mountain, Moriah, the mount of seeing.

Habakkuk was put in a watch-tower, high above the plains, that he might see the dangers that were approaching the nation and give them warning. It was not the earthly military powers that posed the gravest danger to Israel, but their own spiritual weaknesses. Habakkuk's message was: "The just shall live by his faith." And: “The Lord is in His Holy Temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him." By this message he turned their eyes away from the military defeat and the death of their king to the fact that God was not dead, the hosts of heaven still were marching on.

The prophet must view the world from a higher perspective, heaven’s perspective. The prophet sees the heavens, while others only see empty space. To see the things of the Spirit, we must rise above the things of this world; to hear the testimony of Jesus Christ we must enter into Him by the Spirit. To enter into the experience of the Book of Revelation, we must "come up hither" along with John and the Angel. We must enter, with John, into the knowledge of the Scriptures from the viewpoint of Christians of that day.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net   

84. LAODICEA

Revelation 3:14. “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see,'” (Revelation 3:15-18).

Another play on words may have come from the Greek word Laodicea by using the meaning of the Hebrew word, La’at, which sounds similar to the root Laod, “swallow down, speak confusedly ... eat greedily or devour.” "I am about to spit you out of my mouth," the nauseating effects of gorging food too hurriedly, or drinking warm water. This also in the context of the fact that Laodicea had warm, soda-laden springs that, when one drank of them, induced vomiting. The nearby city, Hierapolis, had beautiful springs of water but thirsty travelers found it warm and tasting of minerals – very distasteful, and often spewed out.  This would fit the context of their "lukewarm-ness."

Their diseased eyes and nakedness, perhaps also with issues caused from venereal disease, made them unclean according to the law, and therefore not to be associated with by the priests.  The writer may have suggested that these people were dâliy, “containers for repulsive or obscene liquids.” To spue out means to vomit, or to loath or abhor. Ironically, the people were even more loathsome because they considered themselves rich and in need of nothing!

But the gracious Lord Jesus Christ counsels these repulsive, ugly and unlovable souls with some of the sweetest promises in the entire Bible:

3:18-22: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore and repent. 20. Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22. He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

For their poverty the Lord offers "gold refined in the fire," for their nakedness He offers "white raiment" to cover their shame; for their diseased eyes He offers a healing salve. For their languid, feeble condition He challenges them to "be zealous"; for their sin He exhorts them to "repent."  He reminds them of His love, even in spite of their loathsome condition. He wants to clean them up, heal them, and even eat with them in fellowship. And as if that were not enough, He offers them the privilege to sit with Him in His throne. What a Savior!

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net   

83. HEAVEN

83. HEAVEN(S)

Revelation 3:12. “Which comes down from my God out of heaven.”

Since the term heaven(s) is mentioned more than thirty times in the Book of Revelation, it is necessary to understand the Biblical definition and concept. The opening verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, tells us that God created the "heaven," (KJV), or "heavens," (RSV). The word is neither singular nor plural but is the Hebrew dual form indicating a "double."  Since the English language does not have a dual form, it is variously translated as either a singular or plural.

In Genesis 1:6-7, we find that God spoke into existence a firmament that separated the waters that were below from the waters that were above. Then, verse 8, "God called the firmament Heaven."  The word firmament is Hebrew râqîya’, (BDB), which means an extended surface, (thought of by the Hebrew Rabbins as solid).  It is from the root meaning "spread out." It would most aptly be called "space" in today's vernacular. In Christian Palestinian the word is used for “swaddling bands.” In Phoenician it was used to mean a platter or bowl. 

Is there any connection between these various meanings of the word? Yes. The term swaddling bands aptly describe the great circles of the ecliptic, the equinoxes and the solstices. The great bowl is descriptive of the concept of the sky as a great inverted bowl, which contains the sun, moon and stars for determining time. In other words, the great bowl of the heavens is filled with "times." This concept is also evident in Revelation 15:7, 16:1, etc., as the "bowls" of God's wrath. These are the seven "times" of the great tribulation. Times are referred to as passing over ones head. For example, Daniel spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar that “seven times” would pass over him, Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, 32.

Another illuminating part of this concept is to be found in Genesis 2:6 where the KJV translates: “But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”

The word which RSV translates mist is Hebrew ’êd but it gives an alternate meaning in a footnote as “flood.” BDB lists it as perhaps derived from a root meaning “something curved or bent,” which would describe the apparent arc of the sky. The mists from the earth go into the sky and return as floods.

The word ’êd (אֵד) may be an alternate spelling of the word ‘ad (עַד), meaning "perpetuity...advancing time." The picture that emerges here is that the starry heavens are viewed as a river, or stream of time which can accumulate into a "flood." In the Hebrew of Genesis 2:6, it is said that the mist or flood was "going up" or "was over,” or “above" the earth. The sky appears to turn, bringing day and night, and the seasons of the year. 

In this context we can see that the "Great River" is the river of the time-telling heavens as it perpetually flows onward. The river Euphrates is a “great river” but only the earthly shadow or counterpart of the heavenly “Great River” of time. The "waters that are below the firmament” mirror the “waters that are above the firmament.” This is analogous to the spiritual realities which are mirrored by the physical realities, Hebrews 11:3. This mirroring by analogy is the doubling which is indicated by the Hebrew dual form hashâmayim, “the heavens.”

However, 2 Corinthians 12:2 gives Biblical justification for the idea that there are three heavens. These are: the first heaven where the birds fly, (Genesis 1:20); the second heaven where the sun, moon and stars are, (Genesis 1:14-15); and the third heaven, which is Paradise, (2 Corinthians 12:2-4); where Paul saw things that were not lawful to utter, probably indicating the Name of God which was considered by the Rabbis as too holy to be pronounced. It is the first and second heavens that mirror each other. The third heaven is only mirrored by spiritual realities.

In the Book of Revelation, we know that John viewed the starry heavens from the isle of Patmos in chapters one through three, where he saw Christ holding seven stars and speaking to the angels of the churches. Then in chapter four, John saw a door opened "in heaven" and was invited to come up there. Immediately John was "in the Spirit" where he saw visions of God and of His throne. This was probably understood to be that third heaven.

Paul's experience of seeing the "third heaven" was such that he could not say whether he was in the body or out of the body, but it seems that John was "out of the body" in his experience, for it is clearly stated that he was "in the Spirit." The things which he saw, then, are described in terms of the analogy of spiritual realities expressed in terms of physical senses and realities.

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.com.]

82. WHERE GOD CHOOSES TO PLACE HIS NAME

82. WHERE GOD CHOOSES TO PLACE HIS NAME 
 Revelation 3:10-12:

3:10. Word of My Patience: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.”

The "word of my patience" is the word which treats of “patient waiting for me,” i.e. the word of the prophecy of His return in vengeance against the wicked nation and city that had persecuted Jesus and His Church. 
 Weymouth translates it: “Because you have kept the word for which I suffered.” The word for which Jesus suffered was that the Jewish nation and Jerusalem would be destroyed, (Matt. 26:61; 27:40; Acts 6:14). The church is encouraged to maintain this word even in the face of martyrdom. Many in the modern Church world are deceived as to the meaning of this verse and do not know that the Jewish nation and the City of Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 AD, as Jesus had foretold.

(The word earth is the same word as for “land” in Hebrew, therefore it might be translated by either term, that is: “That dwell upon the earth,” or “That dwell upon the land.”)

3:12. Where God Chooses to Place His Name:  “The name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem.”

This verse clearly establishes the identity of "The City of God." It is not the earthly city, but the heavenly, not the center of false “Judaism,” but rather the Christian Church, the Body of Christ, the New Jerusalem, not the old. This was the understanding of the early Church. Eusebius calls the Church "the City of God."[i] This verse establishes a foreshadowing for the appearing of this City in chapters 21 and 22, the glorious Bride of Christ.

Throughout the history of ancient Israel, God selected a City and a Temple where He chose to place His name. It was the fact that His Name was placed there that made it the “City of God.” The Name is now no longer resident in a city or temple made of brick and mortar but rather is in the people of God.
From the beginning it was God's desire to dwell among His people, and we see this manifested first in the Garden of Eden. Later He chose to dwell among the nation of Israel in the Tabernacle as they wandered in the wilderness. Then when they had come into Canaan they built the tabernacle at Shiloh. But the Lord forsook the Tabernacle at Shiloh because of their idolatry, (Psalm 78:60). 
After they had become a nation, Solomon built the Temple at Jerusalem where God "chose to place His Name." For a time that literal city, Jerusalem, was the “City of God” and the Temple of God was in it. However, that city and temple became defiled and were destroyed because of sin when the old Israel broke the covenant, 2Chronicles 7:19-21. 
But we see here in Revelation 3:12 that God still has a chosen people and still chooses to place His Name in them. Where is God's Name now?

These people, who worship the Lord Jesus Christ, are now the dwelling place of God Himself and in them He "chooses to place His Name.” Jesus chose to place His Name in the Church: Matthew 28:19-20: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
John 16:23-24, 26: "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, He will give it you. (24) Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full... (26) At that day ye shall ask in My Name: and I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you (27) For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came out from God."  
John 27:6: "I have manifested Thy Name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me: and they have kept Thy word... (26) And I have declared unto them thy Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." (Underlines mine.)
See also: Mark 16:17; John 14:13-14, 26; Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9-10; Colossians 3:17. 
Later also in the Book of Revelation 14:1 we again see the Name of God on the foreheads of His people: "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's Name written in their foreheads.".

---

[i] Eusebius History, 10.4.2 – “Praise for the City of God,” (i.e., Christianity).
 This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com.
[Free downloads are available at  www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.]

81. PHILADELPHIA: THE OPEN DOOR

81. PHILADELPHIA: THE OPEN DOOR

Revelation 3:7. "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.”

This verse is parallel to Isaiah 22:22:

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The Rabbis used the phrase “openings of the wise” to refer to interpretation of Scriptures.  The word “key” was used of “teachings.” The Revelator is declaring that Christ is the One spoken of by Isaiah, Who has been given the Key of David, that is, the key to interpreting the Scriptures. The Pharisees at that time were searching the Scriptures, but they were perverting them to their own use. But unless the Scriptures are interpreted as testifying to Christ, it is a misinterpretation, John 5:39.

There seems to be a play on the Greek word Philadelphia and the Hebrew word deleth, “door.” The word Philadelphia can be divided in the middle like a two-leaved door, swinging both ways. The first part, philad – is a mirror image of the last part of the word, daleph, Hebrew for “door.” The original Hebrew Bible had no vowel points, so disregarding the vowels the word is ph-l-d + d-l-ph. This door motif is first seen in verse 7:

He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.

The motif is seen again in 3:8:

I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 
The key to the correct interpretation of Scripture is Christ: Old Testament, New Testament, and the prophetic future, Christ is the Beginning, the Center and The End.

 This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation In Context, available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com. Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net