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If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. What? came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?")
They add here, or take away there, and soon the message is no longer pure, and the revival dies down. How careful we must be to hear ONE voice, for the Spirit has but one voice which is the voice of God. Paul warned them to say what he said, even as Peter did likewise. He warned them that EVEN HE (PAUL) could not change one word of what he had given by revelation. Oh, how important it is to hear the voice of God by way of His messengers, and then say what has been given them to say to the churches.
I hope you are beginning to see it now. Perhaps you can understand now why I don't hold with the fundamentalists and the Pentecostals. I have to hold to the Word the way the Lord revealed it. Now I did not cover it all. That would take a separate book, but by the help of the Lord we will get many sermons and tapes and messages on all of these points to help you to understand and dovetail all Scripture.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches of each age.
In every age it was the same cry. Hear what the Spirit says. If you are a Christian, you will get back to what the Spirit is teaching, that is, the Word of this age. Every messenger to every age will preach that Word. Every fresh and true revival will be because men have gotten back to the Word for their age. The cry of every age is the rebuke, "You have left the Word of God. Repent, and come back to the Word."
From the first book in the Bible (Genesis) to the last book (Revelation) there is only one reason for God's displeasure--leaving the Word; and there is only one remedy to regain His favor--back to the Word.
In the Ephesian Age, and in this age, and in every age we contemplate we will see that this is true. And in the last age which is our age, we will find the blackout of the Word, the complete apostasy ending in the great tribulation.
If you are true seed, if you are truly baptized with the Holy Ghost you will esteem His Word above your necessary meat, and yearn to live by EVERY Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
This is my earnest prayer for all of us; may we hear what the Spirit is bringing from the Word for us today.
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Revelation 1:9-20
John On Patmos
Revelation 1:9
,
9 I, John, who also am your brother and
companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle
that is called Patmos, for the Word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The visions that John received covered a period
of two years,
remarkable of all visions in the Word.
book is set forth in symbols, and therefore is the target
of much criticism and dispute.
the seal of God upon it. That makes it authentic
and of tremendous value to all who read or listen
to its sacred pages.
A.D. 95-96. They are the mostThe entire However, it does have
If we are going to live as
Christians, we have to be in HIS Spirit. John was not
talking about being in his own spirit. That would not
have brought these visions. It had to be the Spirit of
God.
our efforts are in vain.
Spirit, I will sing in the Spirit, I will live in the Spirit."
It has to be the Spirit of God with us, too, or all Paul said, "I will pray in the
Have you ever noticed how the world gets into
the spirit of things that are in the world?
their ball games, their sporting events, and their
dances. They enter into the spirit of it. They don't sit
there like wall flowers, old dried up sticks. They enter
right into the feel of things and become a part of
things. But, oh, how they hate the Christians for
getting into the Spirit of God's Word. They call us
fanatics and holy-rollers. There is nothing they won't
do to show their hatred and disapproval. But ignore
that. You can expect it, knowing where it is coming
from. Just go on and get in the Spirit of worship.
They go to
Our spirit is clean. It is fresh. It is real.
sober and serious but nonetheless, full of the joy of
the Lord. The Christian ought to be just as exuberant
and full of his pleasure in the Lord as the world is
when it savors and delights in its pleasures.
It is
Revelation 1:10,
10 And heard behind me a great voice, as
of a trumpet.
John was in the Spirit, and when he was, he saw the
great and wonderful day of the Lord Jesus and all His
holy power. The future was about to unfold for God
was about to teach him. John did not say it was a
trumpet. It was like a trumpet.
is blown it has an urgency about it.
herald, the king's messenger, coming to the people.
He blows on a trumpet. It is an urgent call. The people
gather to listen. (Israel was always assembled by the
sounding of a trumpet.) Something important is at
hand. "Listen to it."
urgency of appeal as did the trumpet. Clear and
strong it was, startling and awakening. Oh, that we
might hear the voice of God as a trumpet this day, for
it is the `Gospel Trumpet' sounding forth the
`Word of Prophecy' to make us aware of, and
prepared for, what is coming upon the earth.
So this voice had the same urgency. |
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Revelation 1:11
,
11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the
First and the Last: and, What thou seest, write
in a book, and send it unto the seven churches
which are in Asia: unto Ephesus, and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto
Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Here it is. The First and Last, the Alpha and Omega:
that's ALL of it. The one true God. The Voice and
Word of God.
thing it is to be in the Spirit. My, to be in the presence
of God and hear from Him.
a book, and send it to the seven churches."
that sounded forth His Word in the Garden of Eden
and upon Mt. Sinai, which voice was also heard in the
excellent glory of the Mount of Transfiguration,
once again sounding forth, and this time to the
seven churches with a complete and final revelation
(unveiling) of Jesus Christ.
Reality and truth is at hand. What a"What thou seest, write inThe voice was
"Write the visions, John. Make a record of them
for the ages which are to follow, for they are the true
prophecies which
and send them out, making them known."
MUST come to pass. Write them
John recognized that voice. Oh, you will
recognize that voice when He calls if you are one
of His own.
1 ¶In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with
God.
3 All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was
made.
If you can ever get to really see the Word you will
be seeing Jesus.
When John turned he saw seven golden
candlesticks. Actually they were lampstands. And
according to verse 20, they are the seven churches:
"the seven candlesticks that thou sawest are the seven
churches."
hardly be candles. A candle burns but awhile and then
is burned out. It dies. There would be no more to it.
But lampstands possess a lasting quality not found in
candles.
If you want to get a beautiful picture of the lamp,
read about it in
To represent the churches they could
Zechariah 4:1-6
,
1 ¶And the angel that talked with me
came again, and waked me, as a man that is
wakened out of his sleep,
2 And said unto me, What seest thou?
And I said, I have looked, and behold a
candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the
Here is another lamp of pure gold. It is burning brightly
because it has plenty of oil which it is getting from the
two olive trees, which stand on either side.
trees represent the Old and New Testament, and of
course the oil typifies the Holy Ghost, Who alone
can give the light of God to the people.
who spoke to Zechariah was as much as saying
what you see means that the church cannot
accomplish anything by its own might or power,
but by the Holy Ghost."
Now examine this lampstand.
that it has a large bowl, or reservoir, that is central to
seven arms that come out of it. This bowl is filled with
olive oil which flows through seven wicks which are
placed in the seven arms. It is the same oil that burns
and makes a light at the end of the seven pipes. This
light never went out. The priests just kept pouring oil
into the bowl.
The twoThe angel"thisYou will notice
The lamp was lit in a special way.
priest took fire from the sacred altar which was
originally lighted by the fire of God. He lit, first of all,
the lamp that was sitting on top of the bowl. He then lit
the second lamp from the flame of the first lamp. The
third lamp received its fire from the second lamp, as
did the fourth receive its from the third, and so on, until
all the seven lamps were burning. This holy fire from
the altar, being passed from lamp to lamp, is a
wonderful type of the Holy Spirit in the seven Church
Ages.
outpouring came direct from Jesus on the Mercy Seat)
is enduing His Church through all the seven ages, and
showing forth perfectly that Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, and today, and forever, the never changing
God in His essence and His ways.
First, theThe original outpouring of Pentecost (which
In
branches."
of the original root from the original seed that has the
life in it. Now the vine does not bear fruit; it is the
branches that do that.
a citrus tree such as an orange tree, and graft into it a
grapefruit limb, a lemon limb, a tangelo limb, and other
kinds of that variety, and all those limbs will grow. But
those grafted limbs will not bear oranges. No sir. The
lemon limb will bear lemons, and the grapefruit limb
will bear grapefruit and so on. Yet those limbs will be
thriving off the life in the tree. But if that tree ever puts
forth another branch of itself it will be an orange
branch and bear oranges.
the limb and the life in the trunk are identical whereas
it wasn't so with the grafted limbs. Those grafted
branches had their sources in other kinds of life from
other trees, from other roots, from other seeds.
they will bear fruit all right, but they won't bear
oranges. They cannot because they are not the
original.
That's the way the church is. The vine has
been split and limbs have been grafted in.
have grafted in Baptist limbs, Methodist limbs,
Presbyterian limbs, and Pentecostal limbs. And those
limbs are bearing Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and
Presbyterian fruit. (Denominational seeds from which
they produce their fruit.)
forth another branch of itself, that branch will be
exactly like the vine itself. It will be the same kind of a
branch that was brought forth at Pentecost. It will
speak in tongues, prophesy, and have the power and
signs of the resurrected Jesus Christ in it. Why?
Because it's thriving on the natural resources of
the vine itself. You see, it wasn't grafted into the
vine;
branches were grafted in, all they could do was
bear their own fruit for they were not born of that
vine. They don't know about that original life and
original fruit.
born of it. But if they had been born of it, that same life
that was in the original stem (Jesus) would have come
through them and manifested through them.
14:12, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth
on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto My Father.
John 15, Jesus said, "I am the Vine, ye are theHe is the main Vine, that which comes outNow watch this: You can takeWhy? Because the life inOh,TheyBut if the vine ever bringsit was BORN in the vine. When those otherThey cannot know for they were notJohn
Denominations which are man directed cannot
be born of God; for it is the Spirit, NOT MAN, that
gives life.
How thrilling it is to think of those seven lamps
drawing life and light from the resources of that main
bowl because they had their wicks dipped therein.
Each church age messenger is depicted here. His life
is on fire with the Holy Ghost. His wick (life) has been
immersed in Christ. Through that wick he is drawing
the very life of Christ, and by it gives out light to the
church.
same light that was in the first lamp that was lit. And
right on down the ages to the present time of the last
day messenger the same life and the same light is
manifested by a life that is hid with Christ in God.
What kind of a light is he giving? The very
Not only can we speak thus of the messengers,
but every true believer is dramatically depicted here.
They are all drawing from the same source. They have
all been dipped into the same bowl. They are dead to
themselves and their lives are hid with Christ in God.
top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and
seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are
upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the
right side of the bowl, and the other upon the
left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel
that talked with me, saying, What are these,
my lord?
5 Then the angel that
talked with me answered
and said unto me, Knowest
thou not what these be?
And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered
and spake unto me, saying,
This is the word of the
LORD unto Zerubbabel,
saying, Not by might, nor
by power, but by my spirit,
saith the LORD of hosts.
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Sorry, I missed a piece.
Revelation 1:12
,
12 And I turned to see the voice that
spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks.
John does not say that he turned to see the one
whose voice he heard, but he turned to see the voice.
Oh, I like that. He turned to see the voice. The voice
and the person are one and the same. Jesus is the
WORD.
John 1:1-3, Christ Revealed In |
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N
Revelation 1:13
,
13 And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks One like unto the Son of Man,
clothed with a garment down to the foot, and
girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
There He stands,
One like unto the Son of Man.
As the jewel is beautified by the mounting of the ring, so He is glorified in the midst of the churches.
It is the Lord's Day; for John sees Him standing, not as a priest, but as the coming Judge. The golden girdle is no longer girt around the waist where the priest must wear it as he ministers to God in the Holiest Place, but it is now around His shoulders, for He is not now the priest but the JUDGE. Now has
John 5:22
come to pass,
hath committed all judgment unto the Son..
service has been rendered.
.For the Father judgeth no man, butHisThe priesthood is over.
The days of the prophecy are finished. He stands
girded as the
JUDGE.
T
Revelation 1:14-16
,
14 His head and his hairs were white like
wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a
flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if
they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven
stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp
twoedged sword: and his countenance was as
the sun shineth in his strength.
How deeply moving and inspiring was the
appearing of Jesus to John, who was in exile for the
cause of the Word, and behold,
now stands before him.
for every descriptive attribute has a significance. What a revelation of His glorious Being.
1
John first notices and mentions the whiteness of His hair. It was white, and as bright as snow. This was not because of His age. Oh, no. The brilliantly white hair does not signify age but experience, maturity, and wisdom. The Eternal One does not age. What is time to God? Time means little to God, but wisdom means much. It is as when Solomon called to God for wisdom to judge the people of Israel. Now He is coming, the Judge of all the earth. He will be crowned with wisdom. That is what the white and glistening hair signifies. See this in
. His Hair as White as Snowthe Living WORDWhat an illuminating vision,
Daniel 7:9-14
,
9 ¶I beheld till the thrones were cast
down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose
garment was white as snow, and the hair of his
head like the pure wool: his throne was like
the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth
from before him: thousand thousands
ministered unto him, and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before him: the judgment
was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld then because of the voice of
the great words which the horn spake: I beheld
even till the beast was slain, and his body
destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts,
they had their dominion taken away: yet their
lives were prolonged for a season and time.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold,
one like the Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,
and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that
which shall not be destroyed.
There it is.
was the Judge opening the books and judging out of
them. Daniel saw Him coming in clouds. That is
exactly what John saw. They both saw Him exactly the same.
girdle over His shoulders,
full of wisdom, fully qualified to judge the world in
righteousness. Hallelujah.
Even the world understands this symbology, for in
ancient times the judge would appear and convene
court, dressed in a white wig and a long robe that
signified his complete authority (head to foot robe) to mete out justice.
2
Think of it. Those eyes that were once dimmed
with tears of sorrow and pity. Those eyes that wept
with compassion at the grave of Lazarus. Those eyes
that saw not the evil of the murderers who hanged
Him on a cross but in sorrow cried,
them."
Of all the human emotions He manifested the
most when He appeared as the Son of Man was this
one, He wept often. Yet behind that weeping and that sorrow there was still God. Those same eyes saw visions. They looked deep within the hearts of men and read their very thoughts and knew all their various ways. Blazing out of mortal eyes was God, Who cried to those who knew Him not for what He was,
. His Eyes as FireDaniel saw Him with that white hair. HeThey saw the Judge with His judgmentstanding pure and holy,"Father forgiveNow those eyes are a flame of fire, the eyes of the Judge Who will recompence those who rejected Him.
John 8:24 .If ye believe not that I
am He, ye shall die in your sins.. John 10:37,38 .If I
do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if
I do (the works of My Father), though ye believe not
Me, believe the works..
the weeping prophet, for men received not the Word of God and thrust aside the revelation.
Those fiery flaming eyes of the Judge are even
now recording the lives of all flesh. Running to and fro throughout the earth, there is nothing He does not know. He knows the desires of the heart and what each one intends to do. There is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed, for all things are naked before Him with Whom we have to do. Think of it, He knows even now what you are thinking.
Yes, there He stands as Judge with flaming eyes
to mete out judgment. The day of mercy is over. Oh,
that men might repent and seek His face in
righteousness while there is yet time. That they might make His bosom their pillow ere the world dissolves in fire.
Like Jeremiah of old, He wasHE SEVENFOLD GLORY OF HIS PERSONO LONGER THE PRIEST |
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