CHRIST-DAILY
DEVOTIONS
  March 22nd

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place.  And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John" (Rev. 1:1).

John begins the Book of Revelation with "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."  Notice that "Revelation" in verse one, and the name of the book, are both singular.  This is an important point! This book is not about many revelations, but is written for the purpose and intent to focus on the one and primary revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Christ is the beginning of the book and is the Alpha and Omega at the end of the Book of Revelation (Rev. 22:13).  The Holy Spirit has come to teach and reveal Christ to the church (John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13-15).  The reason there are so many differing opinions about the Antichrist, who he is, who the ten horns are, and exactly what the plagues and trumpets represent, is that the Holy Spirit is NOT revealing these to the church.  The Holy Spirit spends his time with us revealing Christ.  For the church, the revelation is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). 

What you get in most teaching about these events and things in Revelation, is just man's own reasoning and opinions, based on educated use of the knowledge of good and evil in the unrenewed mind.  Even Jesus Christ made clear, that of the day or the hour of some of these events, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven but His Father only (Matt. 24:26).  Again, since most of these things are for Israel, during the great tribulation period after the rapture of the church, and only the Father knows. Then, why are some men spending so much time with eschatology that the Holy Spirit isn't revealing?  Perhaps they are not being Spirit-led.  For the Holy Spirit will always focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Holy Spirit discernment is to know Christ and reject the antichrist, or to know light and truth and reject darkness and lies, so that Christ can live in us in this present world.  The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that Christ was in Him and that He was in Christ (Gal. 1:16; Eph. 1:4).  Paul prayed that the Father would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him and His Son (Eph. 1:17).

The revelation was given by the Father to His Son to show His servants things which must shortly take place.  The Father sent the Holy Spirit to reveal His Son in us (Gal. 1:15-16). The Holy Spirit will reveal that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in the Father and in the Son (Col. 2:2-3). In all wisdom, the Son then reveals the Father (Matt. 11:27). The important things to the Father "which must shortly take place" (Rev. 1:1), is that He is establishing the church according to Paul's "gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery" (Rom. 16:25).  Jesus gave the office ministries to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, to build up the church until we come to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of Christ in us, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13).  That is the Father's heart, focus, and desire for the church.  That  we will all come to the full revelation of Jesus Christ! V

Written by Dwight Davis
Christ-Ministries
 

                                               

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