REVELATION: Vision 1. The Empowered Son of Man.

[Marilyn C]

Vision 1. The Empowered Son of Man.

I believe many people are confused with so many views of the book of Revelation. However I have found that by focussing on Jesus it all becomes clearer. So, I hope you will join me in looking at this great book as the Father unveils His Son to us as He is known in the heavenly realms.

`The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him...`   (Rev. 1:1)        Revelation – from the Greek Word `apocalypse,` meaning `to unveil.`

 

I believe, there has never been any monuments erected in honor of great personalities throughout the centuries that is comparable to the magnificence of this unveiling of Jesus Christ & the magnitude of His triumph.  

 

 We can imagine what inexpressible pleasure God the Father enjoyed when unveiling His Son`s true character & credentials, for the purpose of showing to His bond   servants the regal nature of His Well Beloved.

 This unveiling of Christ`s Deity was given to John, the Apostle. He was to write it down for the Body of Christ down through the centuries. John was a prisoner on the island of Patmos for his belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As he was waiting on the Lord, He hears a loud voice behind him, as of a trumpet, telling him to write what he sees & hears in a book. 

 John then turns & sees a vision of the one who spoke to him. It is the empowered Lord Jesus Christ. His appearance is like the sun shining in full strength. How awesome that would be to behold!  In His right hand He holds the seven stars, symbolic of the Body of Christ. He is Head of the Body.

 

                              `Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me....

                                               One like the Son of Man,`

                      `His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.`

                                                                                                                           (Rev. 1: 12 & 16)  

 

Any thoughts on this first vision of the Empowered Son of Man, the Head of the Body?  (Rev. 1 - 3) 

 

[Marilyn C]

[Marilyn C]

It seems to me, that when John looked at Jesus He certainly didn`t look like He did on the earth. The vision before John was of the glorified Son of Man empowered by the Father. We see that when Jesus ascended to the Father`s right hand, the Father -

 

`....put all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.` (Eph. 1: 22 & 23)

 

He is dressed as the High Priest,(garment) with wisdom, (white head)  penetrating vision (eyes aflame) and upright in His dealings, (feet).  We then see Him walking in the midst of the 7 churches, (7 = complete), (lampstands) to make sure their lights, their witness of Him is true and clear.

 

And just as the seven stars, the Pleiades (Job 38: 31) control our planetary system, (some say), from billions of miles away, so it is, I see, that this is a picture of Christ`s administrative authority (He holds the 7 stars) over the churches, His Body. He builds and matures them over the centuries and across the world.

 

Some people think that the 7 churches are just in the first century; however the empowered Son of Man, has the authority by the Father over all the Body, over time and over the world.

 

                                                

[Marilyn C]

10 hours ago, SelahSong said:

Hi, Marilyn 

May I  join in?  …and the seven golden candlesticks are symbolic of the seven types of churches in the world today.  

Interesting note:  7 equals spiritual completeness.  

The seven stars are symbolic of the seven angels of the seven churches.

Another interesting note:  Notice the “I am” at the beginning of Rev. 1:18.  HalleluYAH!

-Selah

 

Hi SelahSong,

I would be so pleased for you to share what the Holy Spirit gives to you. Now I like how you wrote of the symbols & types for there are over 330 references to the figures, shadows, symbols, types, patterns, persons and buildings of the Old Testament. So it`s a bit like being a detective to find out in God`s word what they mean.

Looking forward to more of your thoughts.

Marilyn.

 

[Marilyn C]

The vision of the empowered Son of Man, the Head of His Body, walking amid the believers, is very encouraging to me. I see that He is taking very personal attention to what we believe, how we grow, & any errors that would try to deceive us.

`.....that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive.` (Eph.4: 14)
 

From the very beginning of the Body of Christ we read that the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, warned the believers of the difficulties ahead.

  `Therefore take heed to yourselves & to all the flock,.... For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you,....` (Acts 20: 29)
 

Then Christ the Head of the Body (through Paul) warns of false teachers with impure motives & wrong doctrines.

`Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.` (Acts 20: 30)

 Perverse, Gk. Word `diastrepho` meaning to distort, misinterpret & corrupt.

 

Here we see that certain people from amongst the believers are not looking to the Lord as the Head, but desire to `rise up` &  `lord it over ` others. They teach wrong doctrine, `perverse things.`  How true that is even today.

[Marilyn C]

[SisterActs2]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:04 AM, Marilyn C said:

The vision of the empowered Son of Man, the Head of His Body, walking amid the believers, is very encouraging to me. I see that He is taking very personal attention to what we believe, how we grow, & any errors that would try to deceive us.

Hello dear friend

This is very encouraging to me too.  We need to stay focussed on Jesus as you say and not let the world get us down.  He is with us always.  Thank you for this thread, and others which I hope to catch up with.

[Marilyn C]

If we look at Church history we can see the errors that have crept in as well as the Holy Spirit leading into all truth. Jesus said -

`When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..` (John 16: 13)

Let`s just look at a quick overview to appreciate what the Head of the Body has been doing throughout the centuries and across the world by His Holy Spirit.

Here are the truths and errors to the dark Ages.

 

1.Headship  (Eph. 4: 15  `..Him who is the Head - Christ.`)

Error - disconnected (Col. 2 : 19 `..not holding fast to the Head.`)

 

2. Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4: 11 & 12  `And He gave some to be apostles.... prophets... evangelists... pastors... .& teachers))

Error - Bishops substituted A.D. 110

 

3. Holy Spirit infilling and gifts. (Acts 10: 44 - 46, 1 Cor. 12: 7 - 11)

Error - Formalism of worship Close of third century.

 

4. Holiness (Gal. 5: 16 - 26 `Walk of the Spirit.` Rom. 12: 2 `not conformed to this world.`)

Error - Amalgamation of Church and State. A.D. 323.

 

5. Baptism - (Acts 8: 36 - 38  `See here is water. What hinders me from being baptised?....And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.)

Error - Infant Sprinkling. Sixth Century.

 

6. Justification by Faith. (Gal. 2: 16 `knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Christ Jesus,...`)

Error - Penance Indulgence. A.D. 1063  (Dark Ages)

 

Quite horrific to read how the whole counsel of God that the Apostle Paul preached to the Ephesians was eroded over the centuries. (Acts 20: 27) Next I would like to show from church history how the Holy Spirit has brought the Body Christ to understand and believe these wonderful truths of our Lord and Saviour. 

Marilyn.

[Marilyn C]

As I said - It is quite horrific to read how the whole counsel of God that the Apostle Paul preached to the Ephesians was eroded over the centuries. (Acts 20: 27) Next I would like to show from church history how the Holy Spirit has brought the Body Christ to understand and believe these wonderful truths of our Lord and Saviour. 

`...when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;...` (John 16: 13)

RESTORATION OF ALL TRUTH

Justification of Faith - Lutheran. 1517

Baptism - Baptist 1608

Holiness - Methodist 1738

Holy Spirit infilling & Gifts - Pentecostal 1906

Ministry Gifts - Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher, Prophet, Apostle. Reviving of these ministries across the Body from the 1950`s till now.

Headship - Renewing of Christ as Head, and not man. Clarification of God`s eternal purposes through Christ.

 

We can see that the Holy Spirit has moved across the Body over the centuries, bringing clarification of truths once lost. The difficulty has been for man once receiving a clarification of truth to try to contain it within an organisation. However we see that those truths, once known spread across the Body and are not contained within one denomination.

How great is the Head of the Body, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be bringing us  all to -

`...the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature if the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the Head - Christ -

from whom the whole Body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes the growth of the Body for the edifying of itself in love.` (Eph. 4: 13 - 16)

 

[Marilyn C]

So...in review -

The Lord Jesus Christ, the founder and perfector of the Church is shown as its competent Administrator. He is shown walking amongst the seven golden lampstands. Each lampstand fitted on to a common base representing the complete Church, the Body of Christ.  The number seven in Hebrew means complete.

Then looking back through history we can see that these seven churches are an overview, showing the entire history of its development and conflict against the enemy, while displaying Christ`s competence to meet all challenges, finally culminating in the completing of the mature Body of Christ, His glorious Church.

Thus the Lord Jesus Christ directs John to write to these seven churches in Asia who are representative of all the local churches, the believers who are the Body of Christ - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
                                                                                                                  

The Lord addresses each group particularly, giving words of commendation and encouragement or chastisement and warnings. Christ then counsels each group presenting Himself in clarity and truth. The response is but to repent & obey His Holy Spirit. 

Each church, each group of believers would be encouraged, comforted or challenged by the Lord`s discernment of them. Then down through the centuries as other believers read, they also could receive what Christ is saying by His Holy Spirit.

Now finally today there are believers who have left their first love, as did Ephesus, servants being martyred, as in Symrna, others engrossed and overcome with worldly indulgences, and so on. But each phase has had a period when the outstanding characteristic that is stressed here has been the dominant aspect portrayed in church life.

Thus we see that the church of Laodicea, the final group of believers having to face `every wind of doctrine, ` being `tossed to and fro.` Yet the encouragement is to press on to maturity in Christ and to reach the unity of the faith (what we believe) and the knowledge of the Son of God. (Eph. 4: 13 – 16)