Life In The Spirit The Spirit in Revelation Harvest Center Week Four Several weeks ago: Life In The Holy Spirit Why it is Scriptural to emphasize Spirit Baptism: In Spirit Baptism the NT offers a unique vision of the Jewish messiah as Spirit Baptizer (Gospels) Much of NT Theology is developed through the lens of Spirit Baptism The role of Spirit Baptism found in the Scriptures is very fluid To strengthen our understanding of the NT s emphasis on the Spirit we began to explore The Spirit s Role in Revelation My notes: www.pastorstevenspears.wordpress.com Sermons Our Study in Revelation began With: The Spirit and the Resurrected Jesus But before we started I offered a brief discussion on how I approach Revelation and few definitions and a pastoral warning: Definitions: Book of Revelation = The Apocalypse Pneumatic pneuma (spirit), breath, wind Eschatological eschaton (last day) 1
How I understand and approach Revelation: There are as many interpretations of Revelation as there are interpreters. Throughout church history, anybody that took Revelation seriously thought the events described in Revelation were taking place in their life time. I believe the writer of Revelation as well as his intended audience understood the symbolism of the book. In other words, John knew what he was writing about and so did his intended readers. Rather than see the Revelation as a cypher to figure out the end I approach it as a highly symbolic prophetic exhortation written to give believers the assurance to live faithfully in light of the end. It is time for the church to reclaim the Book of Revelation and take back from the hand of the speculators. Conversation with Ed (how arrogant of us) Two signs of faulty interpretation: 1. Complicated, elaborate explanations, charts, date and event setting. (no body has gotten it right yet no body) 2. Fear mongering (Revelation is not intended to elicit fear, but worship I want to take the book out of the hands of the speculators and experts and place it back in the church. I am convinced that any Spirit led person can read Revelation in such a way that they will gain insight on how to life more faithful to the resurrected Jesus. Our Study in Revelation began With: The Spirit and the Resurrected Jesus 2
We found that in the Book of Revelation the Spirit and the Resurrected Jesus share an extraordinary close relationship The Spirit plays a crucial role in the communication of the Revelation The Spirit Speaks what Jesus Speaks (seven messages to the churches) Jesus vision and knowledge are directly related to his relationship to the Spirit This relationship also confirms the essential unity shared by Father, Spirit, Son. Week Two of Revelation we started exploring the Spirit s connection to the church: The Spirit and the Church - Spirit Empowered (Pneumatic) Discernment Spirit Empowered Discernment: We noted that hearing is very important in the Revelation. It is equal to obedience or keeping what is written in the book. It is also part of the discerning process. Takes place in several ways Interpret the words of Jesus by the help of the Spirit How important is this task? We concluded that The Book of Revelation is a call to remain faithful to the Resurrected Jesus. If you recall when John saw Jesus in all his glory he fell at Jesus feet as though dead (Rev. 1.17). John and the community he was involved with were under incredible pressure to abandon faith in God and the Slaughtered Lamb and direct their worship to other things. The Beast, Money, power anything and everything but God. We saw that despite all John experienced he was tempted to bow to a fellow servant. 3
Rev. 22.8-9 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. Week Four Spirit Empowered Witness Faithful Witness: Rev. 1:4, 5 John to the seven 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 seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. The resurrected Jesus Rev. 1:17, 18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Rev. 2:9, 10 I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Jesus described him self as the living one, He died but now lives forever more I cannot thing of a better description of a crown of life. 4
Jesus is described as a faithful witness Jesus died Jesus tells the believers in Smyrna to be faithful until death and they will receive a crown of life. Rev. 2:13 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. Jesus the faithful witness who died yet lives forever Jesus calls his followers to be faithful unto death and they will receive life Antipas, a faithful witness who was killed in a city designated as the place where Satan s thrown us Starting to get the message? Rev. 11:1-13 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples 5
and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here! And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. However you interpret who or what the two witness are, it is clear they follow the pattern offered by Jesus example, his call to be faithful and the witness of Antipas. It seems clear to me by the use of two olive trees and two lampstands that John is associating them to the entire church (see Zech. 4). Some say Israel and the church but there is no such dichotomy dividing God s people in the NT. Jews and Gentiles are one body the church, God s people. Some want to try to identify them as returning prophets but there are indicators that point else where. The signs they perform seem to be a combination of several OT prophets maybe grouping all of them into these two characters. They seem to speak with one voice (Verse 5 their mouth singular) showing them as a unit not two distinct persons. You do not have to agree with me. The point I want you to get is that to be a witness for Jesus, you have to be willing to go all the way. Rev. 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 6
Rev. 14:4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. Rev. 11 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here! And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. Breath pneuma Spirit Spirit Baptism is the down payment of what is to come. It is our assurance that no matter what we face we are people of the Spirit the Spirit of life the living water that flows from the thrown of God and the Lamb. What does it look like? Cruciform! 7