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VISIONS, PROPHECY
Bible Teachings
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Teachings by Eileen Smith, Kansas

John to the 7 churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace,
from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the 7
Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler
of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us
from our sins by His blood, and He has made us to be a kingdom,
priests to His God and Father to Him be the glory and the
dominion forever and ever. Amen.

John addresses this letter to the 7 churches in the Roman
province of Asia, in what is now part of Turkey. Most if, not
all of these churches were founded during Paul's ministry in
Ephesus. All these churches were in key cities of this province
of Rome. All 7 of these churches were about 50 miles apart.
These churches were probably representative of all the churches
in the province, and all the churches of all ages. What was
said to them is meant for the church today. John says to the
churches Grace being the New Testament greeting, and peace
being the Old Testament greeting, both coming from the one true
and eternal God who is, was, and is to come, the God who has no
beginning and no ending.

Our source of grace and peace is trinity. And it is ours!
The church needs to know that it can experience grace and peace.
Grace means the favor and blessings of God. God takes an active
role in our lives, he looks after and takes care of us, he
provides all the good and beneficial things in life, physical,
material, and spiritual.

Peace means than men no long have be divided, separated, and
discriminated against, there needs to be no fighting, warring,
stealing and killing of each other.  Man can have peace with
GOD and with each other. God is eternal and unchangeable.

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

Grace and peace come from the Holy Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit here is called the "7 spirits."
The number 7 in the Bible means completeness, fulness, and
perfection. So the "seven spirits" means the Holy Spirit in
all his fullness. the 7 spirits is a reference to the
sevenfold manifestation of the Holy spirit that
was prophesied in Isaiah 11:2. Zechariah 4: 2, 6, 10

Our duty is then to learn to walk in the Spirit, and allow
Him to fill us with God's grace and peace.

There are 5 great things declared about Jesus Christ in these
2 verses.

1. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. He is the one person
we can depend on. We can trust what Jesus tells us.
What Jesus Christ reveals can be trusted.
He is the faithful witness. - John 3:11 and John 8:14

2. Jesus Christ is the first begotten of the dead. The first
to arise from the dead. He is Supreme. All believers shall
rise to live with God eternally because he rose and conquered
death for us. Because he rose, we too shall rise if we believe
that He died and rose for us.

3. Jesus is the prince of the kings of the earth. He has been
raised from the dead and sits at the right hand of the father.
He has been given sovereign rule over the earth. The world may
be in chaos but Jesus is in control, and able to handle it all.
Jesus is delaying his return so that more people can be saved.
Bur one day and it may be really soon he will return to take
over the rule of the world.

4. Jesus Christ has redeemed us. He has washed us from our
sins in His own blood. Washed here means to be loosed,
set free, released from sin. It is the shed blood of Christ
that free's us from sin. -  Ephesians 1:7

5. Jesus Christ has exalted us. We have been made kings and
priests. Believers shall rule and reign with Christ. We shall
oversee and administer the affairs of the universe for Christ
throughout eternity.  1 Corinthians 6:2

As priests we have open access into God's presence any time.
Believers no longer need human priests or mediators.
We can now offer our own prayers, praises, worship,
thanksgiving, and offering to God.  1 Peter 2:5

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, & every eye will see Him,
even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth
will mourn over Him.  So it is to be. Amen.  Revelation 1:7

This verse is the hope of the church. He comes with clouds.
Most of those he is writing to are former Gentiles who had
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for his Son from heaven.

I have a feeling they were a lot like us. We have been looking
for the return of Christ for many, many years. I believe they
thought he would return in their time but he didn't and we
believe now that he will return in our time also


HE is COMING SOON!

Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him,
even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will
mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega the
last letter. Jesus is then the beginning and the ending of all
there is. He began all things and He will end all things.
Regardless of how chaotic the world is, all things are under the
control of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lord who is,
who was, and who is to come. Jesus Christ loves us all, his love
is unchangeable, but we must remember also that his justice and
judgment are also unchangeable. If we trust him we will know his
love, if we reject him we shall know his wrath.

Verse 7
This verse is the hope of the church. He comes with clouds.
Most of those he is writing to are former Gentiles who had
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for His Son from heaven. I have a feeling they were
a lot like us. We have been looking for the return of Christ for
many years. I believe they thought he would return in their time
but he didn't and we believe now that he will return in our time.

There are 2 things in this verse that will happen.

1. Every eye shall see him. His glory will be so bright & full
of light that his glory will be seen by every eye. and he won't
be by himself. There will be a host of angels and believers
with him. we are not talking about the rapture here we are
talking about the need of the tribulation.

2. Every person who has rejected Christ and crucified him shall
wail and mourn because of Him. This is a reference to all the
enemies of Christ. Every person who had rebelled against
Jesus Christ shall see him and cry out because they cursed,
rejected, ignored, neglected, rebelled and opposed Him.
Most people accept him as one of the greatest religious
teachers of all time but reject his deity.

They believe that man can be good enough o become acceptable to
GOD on their own. They reject the idea that He had to die for
the sins of the world. But when he returns to earth they will
know without a shadow of doubt that he is exactly who He claimed
to be the Messiah, the Anointed one of God, & the Saviour of the
world. When Christ returns it will not be for Salvation.
There will be wailing, mourning, and crying out, because of
the judgment that he will be bringing with him, on a world that
has rejected him. At this coming the kindreds are the
nations, people, tribes) of the earth.

According to 2 Thess. 1:7 the church will not be on the earth
at this time. so these people that are doing all the wailing
and weeping are those who are left behind. Read Mark 8:38

Then John says Even so, Amen. Which means yes, truly! It wasn't
that he wanted to see judgment come on the world, he was
confirming that he prophecies were indeed true. I think most of
us feel the same way, we don't want to see judgment on our world
or our relatives but we are ready for the Lord to come and take
us to be with him since our world is in such a mess and not
getting any better. I don't think there will be very many who
will turn to Christ during the tribulation because if they can't
and won't live for him now while it is half way peaceable,
why would they live for him in such tribulation.
Read Zechariah 12:10

It wasn't until a few years ago ministers and laymen wondered how
it would be possible for "every eye" to see the Lord come in the
clouds, but with the space age on us it's easier to understand a
little more as to how that could happen. On July 24, 1969 we sat
in our living rooms and watched Neil Armstrong take his first
step on the moon. Through orbiting satellites that bounded back
to earth radio and TV signals "every eye" was able to see this
occurrence simultaneously. Today you see just about anything on
the Internet. So it's very possible to see him come in the clouds.



Painting credit Revelation Illustrated.com


WHO WAS and WHO IS and WHO IS TO COME
Revelation 1:8-11

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord GOD
"Who is and who was and  who is to come, the Almighty."

Verse 8
Jesus describes himself as the "Alpha & Omega."
the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Alpha is the
first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega the last letter.
Jesus is then the beginning and the ending of all there is.
He began all things and He will end all things, regardless of
how chaotic the world is, all things are under the control of
Jesus Christ.

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega the
last letter. Jesus is then the beginning and the ending of all
there is. He began all things and He will end all things.
Regardless of how chaotic the world is, all things are under
the control of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lord who is,
who was, and who is to come. Jesus Christ loves us all, his
love is unchangeable, but we must remember also that his justice
and judgment are also unchangeable. If we trust him we will know
his love, if we reject him we shall know his wrath.

The I AM - WHO WAS and WHO IS and WHO IS TO COME

He is also Almighty. Which means All-Controller, All-Ruler.
He controls all things, he rules all things in the whole
universe. He has all power. Jesus Christ is the Lord who is,
who was, and who is to come. Jesus Christ loves us all, his love
is unchangeable, but we must remember also that  his justice and
judgment are also unchangeable. If we trust him we will know his
love, if we reject Him we will know his wrath.

Revelation 1:9-11
I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and
kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island
called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of
Jesus.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a
loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book
what you see, and send it to the 7 churches: to Ephesus and to
Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to
Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

Verse 9 - This is the first vision that Christ gives John.
This vision is of Christ himself, in his glory and exaltation.
He is getting ready to speak to the churches but before he does
he wants to give John a glimpse of himself.  Jesus wants all
believers to know where the message to the churches is coming
from. There are three things that John says:

1. He calls himself a brother and companion to the believers.
He tells them he lived among the believers he walked day by day
in their midst. He had been a companion with them in their
tribulations, trials, their afflictions and persecutions.
He had been with them in seeking after the kingdom of God.
He had been with them in their day to day patience, enduring,
persevering after the kingdom of God.
Matthew 24:13, & 2 Timothy 2:12

John says he was on the Isle of Patmos when Christ gave him the
vision. He says that he was there for the cause of Christ.
He had been exiled to the island for preaching the Word of God
and the testimony of Christ.

Let's take a look at this island.
It was about 40 miles from the city of Ephesus. It Was in the
middle of a group of islands called the sporades. It was about
10 miles long and 6 miles wide. It was isolated, barren, rocky
with hills rising to about 1,000 feet. It is believed that John
was sent there about 94 A.D. That means he was only there for
approximately 2 years.  I want to throw something in here that
has nothing to do with the Book of Revelation but is was
said in the commentary I was using.

In the darkest hours of human need God is always there.
God will meet us if we will cast ourselves upon him and call
on Him. This was true with John while he was in exile, and it
has been true with others in exile.

Only in the DARK will many see THE LIGHT
IT WAS in EXILE

1. that Jacob saw God at Bethel. Genesis 35:6
2. that Moses saw God at the burning bush.  Exodus 3:1
3. that Elijah heard the still small voice. 1 Kings 19:3
4. that Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord by the Chedar. Ezkiel 1:3
5. that Daniel saw the Ancient of Days. Daniel 7:9

Verse 10-11 * What do you think 'in the Spirit means?'
John says that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.
The Lord's day probably meant Sunday.

This commentator says that it means that Christ put John in a
trance. He gave John a deep spiritual experience that lifted his
mind and spirit above this world and put him in the very presence
of Christ himself. While John is experiencing this intense move
of the Spirit, the vision begins, and John hears a great voice
behind him, a voice that sounded like the call of a trumpet.

What would he have written it on? Probably a roll of writing
material about 15 or more feet long, made from the inner bark of
the papyrus reed grown in the marshes of Egypt. But the first
thing the Lord tells John is that he is the Alpha and the Omega.
Then he instructs John to write what he see's in a book and send
it to the seven churches of Asia.  And those seven churches were
Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Page updated January 2007