"Jesus The Life Force"When The Lamb Stands, series by Sharon Clemens

^^^^^^^* To see all postings from, When The Lamb Stands Series Click here only
                       * All scriptures within this study are linked to BibleGateway.com using the "NIV".

    John's confrontation with the glorified Christ in The Revelation, chapter one, knocked him over, literally. "When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead" [Revelation 1:17]. The sudden shock renders him unconscious. Christ touches John, infusing him with the strength to stand. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel had similar reactions when encountering our Lord, up-close and personal... [Ezekiel 1:28-2:3; Daniel 10:7-9; Isaiah 6:5-6]. A close encounter with deity is no casual experience.

JESUS THE LIFE FORCE:

    As the Creator and sustainer of the universe, Jesus is the life creator--the life force. He is not only the glue that holds the universe together, He is the power that fuels it. In Christ's first advent, He performed many miracles to authenticate His claim to deity. John records, "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." [John 20:30-31] Christ Jesus displayed His power through His miracles, and the masses flocked to Him for healing. "And the whole multitude sought to touch Him [Jesus], for power went out from Him and healed them all." [Luke 6:19] The Lord "knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My clothes?' " [Mark 5:30]

We see from John, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Daniel's reactions during encounters with the Lord,
that His appearance drained them and terrified them.
In The Revelation, Christ is fully revealed, and John is the eye witness.
It may be that the power of deity so emanated from Christ's person,
the force of it knocked John, a mere human, unconscious.
His force was literally seen and physically felt...

    Would Christ have needed to actually reach out and touch John in order to strengthen him? He did not touch Lazarus, but merely spoke his name to infuse Lazarus' cold body with life. Christ, reaching out to John, demonstrates that the same awesome power of God that will deliver His creation from bondage and "make all things new" at His return is also personally available to believers. [Romans 8:22; Revelation 21:4-5] Supernatural power is transmitted from Christ for His sovereign purpose. In no place in scripture is the power of God ever separated from the power source. God's supernatural power cannot be appropriated at the whim of human beings. The manipulation of created things apart from God is NOT of God--it is the occult and inferior power of Satan for the purpose of deception.

    As Christ restored John physically, He also restored him emotionally with a compassionate but powerful command, "Do not be afraid..." When Christ appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He also spoke words of emotional comfort--"Peace to you." Luke's gospel says His followers were terrified and frightened when Christ suddenly appeared in their midst [Luke 24:36] In John 10:19-26, we learn that when Jesus said "Peace be with you," He breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit." The touch of Christ's supernatural breath infused them with Holy Sprit power to quiet their fears. How appropriate! Christ's salutation is more than a simple word greeting. His very breath contains the power to actually grant physical and emotional "peace."

    Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, continues as a common salutation among the Jews of present-day Israel, as it was in Old Testament times. Shalom means peace, quietness and rest are wished upon those to whom it is given. Originally, it was a verbal sign of coming in peace as opposed to warfare, but Shalom became a generic greeting.

    But when Christ speaks the words "Peace be to you," or "Do not be afraid," His words carry supernatural power to actually BESTOW physical and emotional rest and quietness of spirit. Our Lord uses the Greek word for peace in John 14:27, similar to the Hebrew Shalom, but He re-defines it when applied to Himself: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Our Lord was revealing to the disciples that His peace would actually come and permanently indwell them in the person of the Holy Spirit--granting them the power to do His purpose. [John 14:16-17] This same indwelling peace will be the hallmark of the Millennial Kingdom for the whole world when Christ returns. Only, in the Kingdom, the Holy Spirit will rest like an anointing peace over the land [Zephaniah 3:16-17] because the Prince of Peace dwells in the midst of His people. How blessed is the Body of Christ, the Church, to be given the indwelling Holy Spirit in this dispensation of His grace! But in the Kingdom, Christ will speak the same words of comfort to the remnant of believing Israel that He spoke to John, "Do not fear." His Shalom will bless the entire world in that day.

THE KEYS OF HELL AND DEATH

    In 1:18, Christ claims the authority over death and hell [hades] because He demonstrated power over death through His own resurrection. Satan does not rule in hell; soon his purpose will end and he will suffer in the final hell--the burning Lake of Fire--for all eternity [Revelation 20:10]. Satan also has no power to raise the dead. He and his demons may counterfeit the spirits of the dead through demonic delusions, but only Christ can raise the dead to life. "...and behold I am alive for ever and ever!" Christ raised Himself from the dead. See also Romans 8:11 where Paul reminds us that the same Holy Spirit that raised Christ also dwells in us! [Ref. MacDonald]

    How do we dwell in this power? By "abiding in Christ." [John 15:11] It is all about cultivating a relationship with the power source if we wish to walk with Him in His righteous power. Only as we practice obedience can we hope to experience Christ in our lives. Just as we diet and exercise to keep our bodies fit, so we must "eat" the Word of God and "exercise" the straight and narrow path walk of the true believer if we hope to grow in Him and bear fruit. [See Job 23:12]

WRITE, THEREFORE, WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN, WHAT IS NOW AND WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE LATER (here after, or after this)--1:19

    John is officially authorized to write the book in three parts--past, present and future--to visually represent and "reveal" Christ as the past, present and future God--the beginning and the end. Our Lord closes with the explanation of the lamps and stars to emphasize that the church is the vehicle He will use to impart His final word and He holds the church and its ministers close, dwelling in our midst. The church is important to His purpose, but the plan of the ages changes after the Rapture, the end of the church age. The next section of the book, the "PRESENT" section, will overview the church age in 7 letters in order to transport us through time up to the opening of the door to the future.

    When the church age ends in the Rapture, the next event is the Tribulation, that last 7 years of the prophecy of the 70 Weeks from Daniel 9. The church is not found in the book of The Revelation past chapter 3--until the Bride is mentioned as coming with Christ back to the earth to begin the Millennial Kingdom. The Tribulation is not a dispensation in which Christ uses the church as a focus; it is called the Time of Jacob's Trouble, referring to Israel. But Israel is saved through it, Jeremiah 30:7. Then, both the church age believers, the Tribulation believers and believers of all ages will share in the 1,000-year Kingdom of peace on earth.

NEXT TIME: The 7 Letters To The Churches, The Church Age--Better, Or Worse?

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]