22 March 2017

GEMS OLD & NEW (2)

By John Ollis

It seems to me that the Book of Revelation is primarily about JESUS, the eternal Son of God, the second member of the Holy Trinity, the one who came and dealt with the sin question. not only the PENALTY of sin, but the POWER of sin, and the Second Coming or our death) will remove us from the  very PRESENCE of sin.
Our glorious inheritance which we have NOW in Christ  has made us KINGS and PRIESTS (present tense) NOW,  (1: 6) we are ruling and reigning (in the heavenly places) and as priests have constant access into the presence of God, firstly for ourselves, but  like the Old Testament priest we can come on behalf of others, both the saved and the lost and ask the Lord to move in people’s hearts and lives, John says we must give God (the Lord Jesus Christ)  the glory and the dominion FOREVER AND EVER AMEN.
In verse ten Jesus declares Himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He always was, and is, and in the world beyond. The Message Bible says:
I am the A to Z, I’m the God who is, the God who was, and the God about to arrive.I’m the Sovereign-Strong.
John was overwhelmed not only at this declaration by Jesus, but  by the vision John saw of Jesus,  this caused John to fall at Christ’s feet as if He was dead.
I have written previously relative to King David’s words in Psalm 100:4 that we enter God’s presence through the gates of thanksgiving, HAVEN’T WE SO MUCH TO THANK THE LORD FOR ? Sit down for a few minutes and start to count your blessings. Then go through the Courts (the Holy Place) with praise upon our lips and heart, then go beyond the veil of our fears and unbelief, initially you may stand before the Ark of the Covenant (Psalm 80:1) but soon like John you will want to fall on your face bowing not only your body but your heart before the Lord. I think there will be much reference to WORSHIP as we go through this book!!!
Our next blog we will look at some of the concerns Jesus had  with the seven churches in Asia. Let us keep our hearts open, and let the Lord speak to us, as we look at these gems old and new.