The Application of the Body of Christ #10
Revelation: The Prophetic Display of the Father’s Eternal Will and Purpose
Remember: Paul has made plain the mystery of the Father’s Will and Purpose in Ephesians 1:9-10. His Eternal Will is to “gather together in One all things IN CHRIST, both which are in heaven and which are ion earth–IN HIM.” All of history is the manifestation of His Purposed Working all things according to the Counsel of His Will!! And in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we see the prophetic opening up of that manifest will and purpose in the history of the world and everything in it.
I. The third epoch in God’s revealed purpose: I have in the past spoken of the epochs of Gods revealing of Himself through His working in affairs of this world.
#1 the creation of perfect man in a perfect environment.
#2 Fallen man in a fallen world given a perfect religion.
#3 God incarnating His Son in human flesh in the most hostile world.
That is accurate as far as it goes. But this study on the Body of Christ and the inseparable Union of Christ and His redeemed people, Him being declared the Head and the Redeemed as His Body, seems to extend the third epoch of His Incarnation into and throughout the history of His Body of the Redeemed on this fallen earth. John 17 strongly implies that upon the Son’s Resurrection and Ascension, the Father Sees us as Eternally One with the Son of His Love--"I in them, and You in Me that they may be made perfect in One." (Vs 23) Our Redeemer’s High Priestly ministry at the Right Hand of the Father is the constant operation of the Head in Union with His Body still on the earth. I believe this is the message of the Book of Revelation. My only desire in this study is to give you a framework from which you may meditate upon, in complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit, the wonderful comfort and encouragement that this book was intended to give the Body of Christ in every age of their sojourn on the fallen earth.
II. Two Old Testament themes weigh heavily on the Book of Revelation.
A. The Book of Job: “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?” In this Old Testament “taunt” of God to Satan, and Satan’s attempt to destroy Job, we see the OT foreshadowing of Satan’s wrath against the Ultimate “Upright Man” and His Body on the earth, The Almighty’s preservation of that Righteous Man and His seemingly frail Body left on the earth, and Satan’s attacks on the “frailty” of God which leads to his ultimate eternal defeat is played out in this Revelation of Jesus Christ.
B. The Captivity of Israel in Egypt and the Plagues of Deliverance. As we “fly” through the book, we will point out the foreshadowings of the Body’s bondage in this world, the delivering plagues, and its wilderness wanderings and the final Promised Land. Whereas in Exodus, the emphasis on the plagues is deliverance, “let my people go”, in the Revelation the emphasis seems to be on preservation. The blowing of the trumpets and the opening of the seals seem to indicate the Lambs use of earthly cataclysm’s, and human warfare, and even death itself, to stem the flood of satan’s hatred from overwhelming His boy on the earth.
III. As we now proceed to the “framework” for our thinking, remember that the book is not about “the end times”, unless we understand that the “last days” began with the Incarnation! (Hebrews 1:2; Acts 2:14-21) It is about the Body of Christ and the Working of the Head for the safety and endurance of His Body in this hostile world until the day when He makes all things new. And all of this is the “Gathering together in One all things In Christ. Also, this book is not sequential!!! The “after this” phrase refers to the sequence in John’s vision, not the sequence of occurrence in history.
A. Revelation 1 The Introduction to the Head of the Body
1. Grace and Peace are from the Father (Vs 4) and Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. (Vs 4/Psalm 2, & 110:1-4) His Eternity, His Power, and His return are all found in Vs 8. Again His Resurrection and His Eternity is stated in Vs 18. This is for our comfort in all He has given John to write, for our faith is in the Omnipotent One Who is over all the earth and every thing in it.
B. Revelation 2-3 In the Warnings to the Seven Churches, we see the Head of the Body warning of the fleshly weaknesses to be aware of and dealt with in the church throughout all the earth in all ages. The number 7 in Revelation is contextually a sign of completeness or wholeness. So too, we have in these letters, the composite promise of blessings assured to those who endure the “Egypt” of this world.
C. Revelation 4 What glorious “peek” this chapter is into the Holy of Holies, the Throne of the Most High God, the Father of all Eternity. We get a glimpse of the worship of all the redeemed from all ages, OT & NT in the 24 thrones and elders. This is a direct testimony to the words of Rev. 1:6, where John says, "and has made us kings and priests TO HIS GOD AND FATHER". Hence, the 24 elders sit on 24 thrones. And of course, all creation, the four living creatures, worships the Father, and in their worship, the Creator Son is revealed in their likeness to a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle, which many, particularly in the early church, see as the “outline” of the four Gospels of our Jesus. And lastly, but certainly not the least, in 5:1 we see the Father with the scroll of His Perfect Will and Purpose in His RIGHT HAND!!!
D. Revelation 5 Worthy is the Lamb to open the scroll of the Father’s Eternal Purpose. It is a “Bloody Lamb” Who alone ascends to the Father’s Right Hand to take the scroll. At this sight of the slain yet living God/Man, the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures who have the bowls filled with the prayers of the saints from all the earth burst into songs of Glorious praise and adoration. Why? Because they have seen the answer to their groaning prayers found in Romans 8:18-39. All of those imperfect prayers, purified and taken by the Groaning Spirit to our Perfect Head, Mediator, and High Priest, and this is the answer, “All things work together for good tot hose who love God, to those who are called according to HIS PURPOSE.” And that purpose is found in the scroll. No one can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, the Lamb Who was slain!
E. Revelation 6-20 The history of the Conquering Lamb preparing the deliverance of His Body, His Bride from the fallen earth and its Lord Satan. As with the “gifts” in this study, I am only interested in the Conqueror and Body, not the details of the battle. I leave that to your meditations.
1. Note 6:2 The Conqueror introduced. The Champion of the earth on His white steed has a bow. Ps. 45, glorious Messianic, speaks of “O Mighty One” riding in truth, humility, and righteousness with “sharp arrows in the hearts of His enemies”. Vs 3-5 “and He went out conquering and to conquer.” And of course, the “gates of hell will not prevail against Him”.(Mt. 18:16) In the rest of the opened seals, we see the “death throes” that govern this fallen earth. The cataclysmic language is straight out of OT prophesy and is used to emphasize that a Greater than man is at work here! In all of this, the Lamb is in charge! This is the warfare of Ps 110:1-2.
In the 5th seal, we see the cry of the martyrs, “How Long, O Lord.” The prayers of the saints, making bricks without straw in Pharaoh’s slave house, are heard throughout!
2. Chapter 7 The Security of the Chosen: And before the “great day of God’s wrath” (6:17), we have the sealing of the 144,000, the Israel of God, “a great multitude which no man can number of all nations, tribes, and peoples, and tongues, celebrating the true triumphal entry!!! These are those Shepherded by the Lamb and abide in His Promise of restoration! (7: 17)
3. Chapters 8-9 The Trumpet blasts are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt. A third of the earth is destroyed, creation feels the futility of human sin which leads to it’s groaning as in Romans 8:19-21. And notice in 9:20, even though 1/3 of mankind is killed (9:15), “But the rest of mankind....did not repent of the works of their hands......, Just like Pharaoh! (Ex. 11:9)
4. Chapters 10-20 details the battle of the Lamb with Satan in the gathering and protecting His Body on the earth, the Church. Do not be misled, Satan is not the aggressor, the Lamb is the Conqueror!! But His Weapons are not carnal in His pulling down of strongholds. (II Cor. 10:4) It is His Body of the Redeemed that are engaged in this warfare, at first glance appearing to be on the verge of defeat. But the Lamb always prevails through weakness. His strength is perfected in our weakness. Satan salivates at that weakness, but that is his fatal error for the victory of the saints is summed up in 12:11, “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
5. Chapters 21-22 And that leads to that Glorious new heavens and new earth, (II Peter 3:10-13) populated by the Redeemed, seen as the New Jerusalem, descending “out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (21:2) Notice, the plagues are done and the Lamb’s wife is revealed as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (12 gates named after the patriarchs, and built upon the foundation of the Apostolic Gospel. (The names of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb) “And there shall be no more curse, but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it (New Jerusalem)...They shall see His Face, and His Name shall be on their foreheads, and there shall be no night there...for the Lord God gives them Light, and they shall reighn forever and ever.” (22:3-5) The Father’s “Gathering together in One” is complete!!!
Revelation: The Prophetic Display of the Father’s Eternal Will and Purpose
Remember: Paul has made plain the mystery of the Father’s Will and Purpose in Ephesians 1:9-10. His Eternal Will is to “gather together in One all things IN CHRIST, both which are in heaven and which are ion earth–IN HIM.” All of history is the manifestation of His Purposed Working all things according to the Counsel of His Will!! And in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we see the prophetic opening up of that manifest will and purpose in the history of the world and everything in it.
I. The third epoch in God’s revealed purpose: I have in the past spoken of the epochs of Gods revealing of Himself through His working in affairs of this world.
#1 the creation of perfect man in a perfect environment.
#2 Fallen man in a fallen world given a perfect religion.
#3 God incarnating His Son in human flesh in the most hostile world.
That is accurate as far as it goes. But this study on the Body of Christ and the inseparable Union of Christ and His redeemed people, Him being declared the Head and the Redeemed as His Body, seems to extend the third epoch of His Incarnation into and throughout the history of His Body of the Redeemed on this fallen earth. John 17 strongly implies that upon the Son’s Resurrection and Ascension, the Father Sees us as Eternally One with the Son of His Love--"I in them, and You in Me that they may be made perfect in One." (Vs 23) Our Redeemer’s High Priestly ministry at the Right Hand of the Father is the constant operation of the Head in Union with His Body still on the earth. I believe this is the message of the Book of Revelation. My only desire in this study is to give you a framework from which you may meditate upon, in complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit, the wonderful comfort and encouragement that this book was intended to give the Body of Christ in every age of their sojourn on the fallen earth.
II. Two Old Testament themes weigh heavily on the Book of Revelation.
A. The Book of Job: “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil?” In this Old Testament “taunt” of God to Satan, and Satan’s attempt to destroy Job, we see the OT foreshadowing of Satan’s wrath against the Ultimate “Upright Man” and His Body on the earth, The Almighty’s preservation of that Righteous Man and His seemingly frail Body left on the earth, and Satan’s attacks on the “frailty” of God which leads to his ultimate eternal defeat is played out in this Revelation of Jesus Christ.
B. The Captivity of Israel in Egypt and the Plagues of Deliverance. As we “fly” through the book, we will point out the foreshadowings of the Body’s bondage in this world, the delivering plagues, and its wilderness wanderings and the final Promised Land. Whereas in Exodus, the emphasis on the plagues is deliverance, “let my people go”, in the Revelation the emphasis seems to be on preservation. The blowing of the trumpets and the opening of the seals seem to indicate the Lambs use of earthly cataclysm’s, and human warfare, and even death itself, to stem the flood of satan’s hatred from overwhelming His boy on the earth.
III. As we now proceed to the “framework” for our thinking, remember that the book is not about “the end times”, unless we understand that the “last days” began with the Incarnation! (Hebrews 1:2; Acts 2:14-21) It is about the Body of Christ and the Working of the Head for the safety and endurance of His Body in this hostile world until the day when He makes all things new. And all of this is the “Gathering together in One all things In Christ. Also, this book is not sequential!!! The “after this” phrase refers to the sequence in John’s vision, not the sequence of occurrence in history.
A. Revelation 1 The Introduction to the Head of the Body
1. Grace and Peace are from the Father (Vs 4) and Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. (Vs 4/Psalm 2, & 110:1-4) His Eternity, His Power, and His return are all found in Vs 8. Again His Resurrection and His Eternity is stated in Vs 18. This is for our comfort in all He has given John to write, for our faith is in the Omnipotent One Who is over all the earth and every thing in it.
B. Revelation 2-3 In the Warnings to the Seven Churches, we see the Head of the Body warning of the fleshly weaknesses to be aware of and dealt with in the church throughout all the earth in all ages. The number 7 in Revelation is contextually a sign of completeness or wholeness. So too, we have in these letters, the composite promise of blessings assured to those who endure the “Egypt” of this world.
C. Revelation 4 What glorious “peek” this chapter is into the Holy of Holies, the Throne of the Most High God, the Father of all Eternity. We get a glimpse of the worship of all the redeemed from all ages, OT & NT in the 24 thrones and elders. This is a direct testimony to the words of Rev. 1:6, where John says, "and has made us kings and priests TO HIS GOD AND FATHER". Hence, the 24 elders sit on 24 thrones. And of course, all creation, the four living creatures, worships the Father, and in their worship, the Creator Son is revealed in their likeness to a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle, which many, particularly in the early church, see as the “outline” of the four Gospels of our Jesus. And lastly, but certainly not the least, in 5:1 we see the Father with the scroll of His Perfect Will and Purpose in His RIGHT HAND!!!
D. Revelation 5 Worthy is the Lamb to open the scroll of the Father’s Eternal Purpose. It is a “Bloody Lamb” Who alone ascends to the Father’s Right Hand to take the scroll. At this sight of the slain yet living God/Man, the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures who have the bowls filled with the prayers of the saints from all the earth burst into songs of Glorious praise and adoration. Why? Because they have seen the answer to their groaning prayers found in Romans 8:18-39. All of those imperfect prayers, purified and taken by the Groaning Spirit to our Perfect Head, Mediator, and High Priest, and this is the answer, “All things work together for good tot hose who love God, to those who are called according to HIS PURPOSE.” And that purpose is found in the scroll. No one can separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, the Lamb Who was slain!
E. Revelation 6-20 The history of the Conquering Lamb preparing the deliverance of His Body, His Bride from the fallen earth and its Lord Satan. As with the “gifts” in this study, I am only interested in the Conqueror and Body, not the details of the battle. I leave that to your meditations.
1. Note 6:2 The Conqueror introduced. The Champion of the earth on His white steed has a bow. Ps. 45, glorious Messianic, speaks of “O Mighty One” riding in truth, humility, and righteousness with “sharp arrows in the hearts of His enemies”. Vs 3-5 “and He went out conquering and to conquer.” And of course, the “gates of hell will not prevail against Him”.(Mt. 18:16) In the rest of the opened seals, we see the “death throes” that govern this fallen earth. The cataclysmic language is straight out of OT prophesy and is used to emphasize that a Greater than man is at work here! In all of this, the Lamb is in charge! This is the warfare of Ps 110:1-2.
In the 5th seal, we see the cry of the martyrs, “How Long, O Lord.” The prayers of the saints, making bricks without straw in Pharaoh’s slave house, are heard throughout!
2. Chapter 7 The Security of the Chosen: And before the “great day of God’s wrath” (6:17), we have the sealing of the 144,000, the Israel of God, “a great multitude which no man can number of all nations, tribes, and peoples, and tongues, celebrating the true triumphal entry!!! These are those Shepherded by the Lamb and abide in His Promise of restoration! (7: 17)
3. Chapters 8-9 The Trumpet blasts are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt. A third of the earth is destroyed, creation feels the futility of human sin which leads to it’s groaning as in Romans 8:19-21. And notice in 9:20, even though 1/3 of mankind is killed (9:15), “But the rest of mankind....did not repent of the works of their hands......, Just like Pharaoh! (Ex. 11:9)
4. Chapters 10-20 details the battle of the Lamb with Satan in the gathering and protecting His Body on the earth, the Church. Do not be misled, Satan is not the aggressor, the Lamb is the Conqueror!! But His Weapons are not carnal in His pulling down of strongholds. (II Cor. 10:4) It is His Body of the Redeemed that are engaged in this warfare, at first glance appearing to be on the verge of defeat. But the Lamb always prevails through weakness. His strength is perfected in our weakness. Satan salivates at that weakness, but that is his fatal error for the victory of the saints is summed up in 12:11, “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
5. Chapters 21-22 And that leads to that Glorious new heavens and new earth, (II Peter 3:10-13) populated by the Redeemed, seen as the New Jerusalem, descending “out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (21:2) Notice, the plagues are done and the Lamb’s wife is revealed as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (12 gates named after the patriarchs, and built upon the foundation of the Apostolic Gospel. (The names of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb) “And there shall be no more curse, but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it (New Jerusalem)...They shall see His Face, and His Name shall be on their foreheads, and there shall be no night there...for the Lord God gives them Light, and they shall reighn forever and ever.” (22:3-5) The Father’s “Gathering together in One” is complete!!!