Revelation John's Vision

REVELATION 1:9 - 20

(Fourth in a series)

 

> This vision of John's takes place on the Jewish Sabbath (Shabot), which is Friday from sundown to Saturday sundown. John explains he was "in the Spirit" which is to say a state of meditation or study.

> Patmos in Greek means, "Stepped On".

> The Greek New Testament (Septuegent) states he was to write down the vision he is about to be shown in a book, which then would have been a scroll. This is to be sent to the seven churches listed in chapters two and three as a warning.

> Jesus fulfills the roles of prophet, priest and king. In His life, He is a prophet; in heaven He is our High Priest and future king (the "Is, Was and Is Coming).

> Lampstands are menorahs with the seven lamps. The menorah references Jesus and the first seven words of Gen. 1:1 which translate from Hebrew "In - beginning - God - Jesus - created - heavens - earth" and reference the "Berisheet Prophecy", which connects the seven days of creation as a foretelling of the six millenium of man and the second coming (seventh) of Christ. Seven is the number of completion.

> V. 13 shows Jesus as a priest in a robe and sash. His white hair defines maturity, wisdom and authority. Bronze references judgement.

> V. 14 references Daniel 7:9 & 10.

> The right hand is mentioned in verse 16 which refers to protection and authority. The stars reference pastors. Just as stars can reference angels, the angels of the seven churches also reference the pastors. The double edged sword is the word of God. 

 

> V. 17 shows us the awe of John in the presence of such a powerful being. Throughout the Bible, worship is a common reaction to His glory. The right hand of Jesus placed on John's head is mindful of the patriarchs of the Old Testament giving blessings to their first born sons. John is of Jesus right hand of favor.

> I like the way the Greek reads for verse eighteen: "And the Ever-living One - I am, living in the eternity of the eternities. I died, but see, I am alive for evermore; and I possess the keys of Death and Hades." Here, again, is reference to the I Am, I Was, I Am Coming, definition of Jesus.

> In verse 20, Jesus explains the stars as the angels of the seven churches and the lampstands as the churches holding the knowledge of the mystery of Gen. 1:1.

> In Greek, verse twenty reads, "As to the hidden meaning the mystery of the seven stars which you saw on My right hand and the seven lampstands of gold, the seven stars are the seven angels messengers of the seven churches assemblies and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." If seven is the number of completion, the seven churches most likely represent the ages of the Christian church through history. 

 

* To be continued . . . . .

 

Revelation First and Last

Revelation 1:4 - 8

(Third in a series)

 

In verse four, John is describing Jesus as "Him who is, and who was, and who is to come,".

> In Hebrew teachings the "Is, Was and Is To Come" is "Yahweh". In Hebrew language, vowels are not present so it would be "YHWH", pre incarnate Jesus of the Old Testament. The four letters translate: The HAND of GRACE, NAILED in GRACE.

 

 > The seven spirits referenced, in the Greek, refers to "the seven-fold Holy Spirit". Isa. 11:2

> Verse 5 talks of Jesus Christ of the New Testament, faithful witness = martyred for our sins; first born from the dead = we follow Him to everlasting life after death; ruler of the kings of the earth = He is over all those in authority, as He will be over us as kings and priests now and in the kingdom yet to come. Ps. 89:27

> The verse goes on to remind us of His love for us; Grk: "To Him Who EVER loves us and has once [for all] loosed freed us from our sins by His own blood,"

> Verse 6: All believers are priests (Gentiles are inheritors of all the promises made to Israel through Abraham). Ex. 19:6, Isa. 61:6

> Verse 7: He is coming in the clouds, every eye will see Him, all people will mourn. Zech. 12:10-14, Jn. 19:37 ALL PEOPLE: Whatever race, color or religious choice, those who do not accept Jesus as Son of God will mourn for not accepting Him as Savior.

> For Verse 7, the Greek reads: "Lo, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him beat their breasts mourn lament over Him. Even so. Amen - so be it." Dan. 7:13

> In Verse 8, John quotes Jesus as being the Alpha and Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The first letters of the Hebrew (God's language given to Adam) alphabet are Aleph and Tav. Aleph references the first, the head, the great sacrifice; tav refers to a sealed covenant. Rev. 22:13

> This verse goes on to quote the Lord God who Is, Was and Is to Come. Lord - Jesus, God - of the Father; Jesus will rule this earth as God. Is. 9:6 Greek text adds, "- the Ruler of all." Messianic text adds, "God of heaven's armies." Isa. 9:6

So Be It!

Revelation's Berisheet Prophecy

REVELATION

(Second in a series)

 

Starting in 1:4, we happen on our first mention of "7"; seven churches.

> Interesting: 7 days of creation, 7 thousand years of history and 7 churches addressed here. Could there be a connection?

> God worked on creation for six days and rested on the 7th. (A day is as a thousand years to God.) There are listed, in the Bible, six thousand years of man before the second coming of Jesus.

> Many of the ancient church fathers, from the first three centuries AD, taught this theory. Leaders of the church such as Barnabas, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Victorinus, Methodius and Lactantius wrote things like: "Therefore, children, in six days, or in six thousand years, all the prophecies will be fulfilled", "The Sabbath is a type of the future kingdom. . . For 'a day with the Lord is as a thousand years", "Resurrection of the body will be when six thousand years are completed,", and "In the seventh millennium we will be immortal and truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles."

 

 

> Could the first six churches listed in Revelation 2 and 3 be the ages of the church? Could the 7th church listed be the age we are presently in?

> From the Hebrew language, take the first word of Gen.1:1 (beginning) and break down the meaning of each letter and the term "In beginning" tells us, "The Son of God, Creator, is coming out of His home and will be part of an epic event that will bring a covenant for the future of mankind". The term "In beginning" (Heb: Berisheet") is all about home and new beginnings.

> The Book of Revelation is about Jesus bringing our new beginning.

 

Writer of Revelation

REVELATION

(First of a series)

 

This book is literal for Israel and spiritual for Gentiles. It is A Revelation (or Apocalypse, Heb: "Unveiling") of Jesus Christ"; the focus is on Jesus. Rev.1:1 & 2

 

> There are over 500 references to the Old Testament; many from Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and Daniel.

> The information in this book came from God to Jesus to John by way of an angel (with understanding coming through the Holy Spirit, 2Pet.1:20).

> The author was the youngest disciple, one of the sons of Zebedee, he saw Jesus as God in flesh, was one of the three frequently named as being in attendance (Peter, James and John) and the one whom Jesus loved; because John was the one who understood that God is love. John came to understand God's plan of redemption and the part Jesus played. Jn. 1:1-3, 1:14 John could have been as young as 13 when he was called as a disciple. Although there is no exact date, Revelation was probably written around 90 - 95 AD, making John about 106 years old. He was favored to care for Jesus' mother and the only disciple spared from martyrdom. The name John translates from Hebrew to "Grace"; John represented the grace of God. (All believers are under God's loving grace since the resurrection of Jesus.)

> John was in exile on the very small isle of Patmos, one of 12 islands called the Sporades (meaning "scattered"): the 12 tribes of Israel were scattered; the 12 disciples scattered to preach the gospel to all the earth. The name Patmos is so old it is unclear the meaning or language it comes from. Abarim Publications defines the meaning as "getting stepped on".

 

> Among many symbols in this book, the number "7" is used over 50 times. Among this is the seven beatitudes (blessings), which I will discuss as we encounter them.

> There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 22 chapters in this book; not a coincidence. Each chapter relates to the meaning of each alphabetical letter - in order.

> The first chapter relates to the first letter of the alphabet "alef" which also represents the number 1. The meaning of this first letter is "leader", "ox", "first" and "strong". Jesus is ruler over the universe, He is our sacrifice (the bullock is the only sacrifice of the ox, lamb or dove that the priest laid his hands on to transfer our sins to the bullock before sacrifice), Jesus is the first born of God's children and our strength.

> In Greek translation, John is called Jesus "bond" servant just as believers are referred to as "bond" servants in Rev. 1:1. We were purchased by the unsolicited sacrifice of Jesus and become indentured when we accept Him as savior; we belong to Him.

 

> Verse 3 gives us the first of the seven beatitudes I mentioned. "Blessed is the one who reads out loud this prophecy". Blessed is to be happy, envied. To read out loud is to see and to hear the word of God. To read out loud is a reference to reading in assemblies (churches, V. 1:20) of believers.

> Based on the Passover and the book of Exodus, Revelation reveals the end times will be like the time of Israel before their escape from Egypt (Heb: "stress") on a worldwide scale. Then, the great and final victory comes. This book is relevant to every generation since but most relevant to those alive in the end.

> Isa.46:9 & 10, 2Cron.33:7

Spoken Word - "Eve"

Good morning!

I really enjoy the study of names in the Bible, through the Hebrew language.  It is God's language given to Adam, with lots of nuances and details that only enrich the meanings.  It is God communicating to those who "seek".

Just the other day, as I was going through the definition of a few names, I explored the name "Eve".  I have always heard this name meant "life".  As usual, this is a simplification of a deeper and richer meaning.

I'm glad you asked:  To be exact, "Eve" translates, "Mother of ALL Life".  This brings up an immediate question.  Since Eve was created after animals, vegetation and Adam, how can she be the mother of ALL life? 

She was the first mother - of Cain and Abel.  However, the translation is not "first mother", it is "all life".  Through the richness of this amazing language (Hebrew) we find out that the word "all", in this case, refers to organisms.  Our body is made up of organs; made up of one cell organisms.  Eve is the mother of all life down to one cell organisms.  Really, kinda beautiful when you think about it.

Let's explain a little further.  (I want to be rational, practical and responsible of giving the correct translation.)  I want you to understand in order to see the beauty in this.  As stated above, Adam and all life came before Eve.  BUT . . . she was the first woman; women bear children/give life.  See?  Only women can be called "mothers".  

Another interesting observation:  To show the power of the spoken word, God  gave all animals to Adam for naming; as Adam named it, so it was.  Up until the first sin, both Adam and his wife were called "Adam" which means "human being".  After they sinned through disobedience (the one thing God counts as more important than sacrifice, ISam. 15:22), God pronounced the penalty of death.  Not immediate; just that they would now not live forever, as first planned.  People would have terminal life spans.  AFTER the penalty of death was announced to Adam and his wife, Adam immediately named his wife "Eve", mother of all life.  In his own way Adam was using his power of the spoken word to pronounce life over his wife. 

Amen

Return of The Blogger - or not

That's it!  I'm coming back - or not.

My opinions are becoming more set in stone and conspiracy theories abound in my imagination.  Been getting deeper and deeper into Bible study and excited about new revelations that might not be so readily accepted on well read venues. I like to cook, have a new food regimen and might post a recipe or two - or not.  I repair and sell dolls so that might come up once in awhile - or not.  My health is more important all the time so I might comment on that - or not.  I need an outlet where I can write (I like to write) and not too many people will read it.  I want to speak my mind but don't want to "make waves".  Crazy huh?  Well, I''m getting old.

I dropped this blog because of very few readers and other social media taking my time. I dropped all other social media but one and thinking of ending that due to their increasing censorship and lack of morality.  I am forced to capitalize the names of cheeses but not adjectives for Jesus or they are considered misspelled.  This has always been a pet peeve of mine.  It's not like I write four letter words or preach animal sacrifice.

At this stage of my life, I am beyond caring.
It's true! The older I get, the more outspoken
I seem to be.  

Want to read this blog?  I will be expressing a lot of personal views and opinions, along with my religious views in my own writing style.  Agree or not, I won't care. 
You can always opt to not read my posts; don't care about that either.  I just want a platform for release.

Where have I been?  With the onset of COVID early, my husband and I spent a couple spring months sick.  One of the early tests came out negative for the illness even though we had text book symptoms.  Two years later, I end up in hospital for ten days with COVID pneumonia.  Oh, that was an experience! That shut down my virtual shop for two months.  It was an experience I don't want again and getting over it is proving to be a major effort.  Not crying and not to worry,  I am good to go just not patient.  Might even write about it later - or not; I would not want to sound pathetic or scarred for life.  I am tired of all the "hoopla" and criticism from those opposed to my opinions about it all.  After all, I don't bother them over their beliefs of masks and hand washing, sanitizers and distancing or whatever else they are consumed with.  Life is for living with joy; not in fear.

Between the two bouts of illness, my children found me and we reunited after 50 years.  Just like a TV talk show!  I wrote in my autobiography, "Evidence of God", they died at birth.  That had to be explained - a lot!  Start writing about life experiences and the world acts like they have a right to all the secrets of your heart.  I might write about the experience sometime - or not.  I'm not one to go on about super personal issues.  Readers think I told all in my book but they are wrong.  I might tell it all here - or not.  We'll just wait and see.

I might copy something from my book on occasion.  After all, it's not flying off the bookshelves.
You can come back and read more later - or not.