First of all, the Bible clearly states that what is spoken of in the book of Revelation, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ, who appeared to him personally in a vision. We also see John’s obedience. We discussed why the scripture says that a truly blessed person should not only read the book, but also obey commands said. We have also seen that sometimes numbers in the Bible are expressed figuratively, and sometimes they are precise! We have to be able to discern. Second, we see from the scriptures some descriptions about what the Lord looks like, and what John should do in the book of Revelation, and explain what the seven spirits refer to. Through the original text and different translations, we saw a sentence missing from the Union Version, which determined that the Lord God mentioned here refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. We also see John’s humility and his paying the price of imprisonment for the Lord. Finally, we saw that Jesus appeared to him in a vision on the Lord’s Day, and part of what John was about to do. We saw that in the eyes of Christ, the church is a golden lampstand, sanctified in status, although not every member is an overcomer. He also described the image of the Son of Man, spoke of a sharp two-edged sword, and knew from related scriptures that the Lord is omniscient. This also points out where we have discussed before about death. Bible verses tell us that when a person dies, the spirit leaves first, then the soul. When the soul leaves the person, he dies! From two verses and this, we see that the trichotomy of man being composed of spirit, soul, and body is correct. So know that the dichotomy which speaks of spirit and soul being indivisibly together is wrong.
1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ and the Blessed People
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and (G2532) those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”(Revelation 1:1-3)
It was clearly stated at the beginning that this is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ. The Trinity of Gods has the same dignity and glory, so this means that the book refers events happened in the time domain. Because during the time when Christ became flesh, there was an order. The Father sent the Son, as the scripture says, “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.””(John 20:21) Unless the Son goes away, the Holy Spirit will not come. Jesus made this very clear, “…if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”(John 16:7)
We have seen that John faithfully recorded what he saw. In the Book of Revelation, he also showed his obedience and did not write what he was not told to write. As the scripture say, “When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.””(Revelation 10:4) He only said that there were seven thunders, but did not record what the seven thunders said.
That is to say, because it was not written down and the seven peals of thunder were mentioned in just a few sentences, some people often ignored their existences. Someone told me that the some of them have already occurred and can only be seen by spiritual people. However, this statement is not in the Bible. It belongs to the addition of some words in the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation makes it very clear, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.”(Revelation 22:18) I don’t know why such Christians are not afraid? The Bible says that the seven peals of thunder will occur at the end of the sixth trumpet (see Revelation 9:13-10:6). Although the Bible does not say when the seven thunders will occur, “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.”(Revelation 10:7) By the time the seventh trumpet happens, we naturally know that the seven peals of thunder have passed!
Let’s see who are the blessed people here? Some people who encourage people to read the Book of Revelation will emphasize, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, …”(Revelation 1:3). Indeed, the Bible should not be interpreted forcefully (see 2 Peter 3:15-16). Yes, , when the reading is correct, the person who reads this book is more blessed than the one who does not read it. But it’s even more troublesome when you read something and interpret wrong, because it will take at least a lot of time to actually correct an error even if can. In this case, don’t forget that there is the word “and” here. Only by doing it, one can be truly blessed. The scriptures make it very clear, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”(James 1:22) Judging from the consistency of the Bible, it is no wonder that it is said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”(Matthew 7:21) So not only do you have to listen to the right words, but you also have to follow them to be truly blessed.
Finally, we know that the day is near, but it does not mean that is according to our timetable, the early church believed that the Lord would return, but “…you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”(1 Thessalonians 5:2) Now more than two thousand years have passed, and the Lord has still not returned. However, we cannot quote the Bible that says, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”(2 Peter 3:8) Or quoting, “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.”(Psalm 90:4) Therefore in terms of arithmetic, one day of the Lord is equal to our thousand years. So some people say that we have only waited a little more than two days, which isn’t too long. And of course the Lord isn’t coming again. In fact, looking at the context, we know that arithmetic should not be used here, and it’s clear there are other reasons. The former is saying, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) The latter is emphasizing, “You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep; In the morning they are like grass which sprouts anew.
In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew; Toward evening it fades and withers away.” (Psalm 90:5-6) So numbers in the Bible are sometimes spoken figuratively, unlike when Adam’s descendants are mentioned in Genesis 5:1-32, the numbers used there are precise! We have to be able to distinguish the situations.
2. Some descriptions of the Lord here and what John should do
“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, 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. 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. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos.”(Revelation 1:4-9)
First we see that John has to write to the seven churches that will be mentioned later, and tell them how God sees them and the encouragement He gives them. Glory and power must be present when one is united with Him in love. So what do the seven Spirits mean? Let’s look at this verse, “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.”(Revelation 5:6) The Lamb obviously refers to the Lord Jesus. Because of His love for us, He laid down His life for us, was crucified and shed His precious blood. The effect is as mentioned before, and it is natural to give Him glory and power.
We see that the Lamb has the seven Spirits of God. Thus, we see that the Trinity of Gods are all there. During the time of the incarnation, each of the three has its own role. There is an order. Jesus is sent by the Father. If Jesus does not go, the Holy Spirit will not come. The seven churches have therefore seven Spirits, and these seven Spirits are sent to the whole world, so this refers to the omnipresent Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”(Matthew 18:20) Jesus is now in Heaven, seated at the right hand of God, as the scripture says, “…Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”(Colossians 3:1) But His promise has not failed. He is now among us as the Holy Spirit, one of the Trinity. How consistent is what God tells us through the Bible! This is not to say that there are no obvious contradictions in words. What we should ask at this time is what God wants to tell us through such obvious contradictions. That is, we should answer such questions based on the consistency of the Bible, rather than thinking that we have caught something wrong in the Bible.
In Revelation 1:8, we know that Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet respectively, so this is talking about God as the God who was, is, and is eternal. The Lord God in it refers to the Lord Jesus of the Trinity, since only He will come again. It is consistent with the very beginning as the scripture says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John.” (Revelation 1:1)
Finally, we see that John does not emphasize that he is an apostle, but says that he is our brother. And the work he and we should do is what he briefly mentioned, which is for the word of God and to bear witness to Jesus. Because of this, he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos. It was at this time that Jesus Himself appeared to him in a vision. This should be a vision rather than a dream, because the scripture says it was seen.
3. The appearance of Jesus and the correct trichotomy
“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 seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”(Revelation 1:10-16)
This happened on a Lord’s Day. In the verses here, the word “son of man” is used, so it is very clear that the Lord appeared to him in a vision and told him what he should do to the seven churches. Then he saw seven golden lampstands, where “…the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”(Revelation 1:20) Therefore, in the eyes of Christ, the church is a golden lampstand regardless of their behavior. Therefore, they are all sanctified in status, although not every member in them is an overcomer. This is just like when we believe, we are objectively sanctified in status, but in the subjective experience of walking on the road to sanctification, we often stumble. Then we have his description of the image of the Son of Man about what he saw, which is very clearly described, and of course there are much more descriptions in the Bible.
Please note that John mentioned a sharp two-edged sword, which is only mentioned three times in the Union Version. Except this time, the other time is in this passage, “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:”(Revelation 2:12) The one with the sharp two-edged sword is obviously Jesus Christ. Another time it is said, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”(Hebrews 4:12-13) In verse 13, we see again that the Lord is omniscient. In verse 12, we also see that the word of God is more powerful than a sharp two-edged sword. The former can divide soul and spirit. This is because human beings are composed of spirit, soul, and body, which is just like what the scripture says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(1 Thessalonians 5:23)
We have also discussed in “2. The resurrection of the daughter of Jairus” of “1056 Healing a hemorrhage woman, resurrecting a daughter, and sending the twelve -The image of Jesus (11),” in detail about why the Bible verses can conclude that when a person dies, the spirit leaves first, then the soul. After the soul leaves, the person dies! Therefore, the Bible says definitely that human consists of spirit, soul, and body, rather than a dichotomy of soul being together and having a body. I want to emphasize that I am not saying that all people who see the dichotomy are always wrong, just that they are wrong on this point. The last thing to mention is that in Hebrew culture, spirit and soul can be used interchangeably, while in Chinese culture, souls are always together mentioned, but we really want to see what the Bible says! If you are interested in this article, it can be found in the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/,” click “Understanding of Spiritual Life.”
Finally, we see that the Bible clearly says that when a person dies, “then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”(Ecclesiastes 12:7) And some souls are under the altar in heaven as the scripture says, “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained.”(Revelation 6:9) Therefore, the spirit and soul must be separated when a person dies. That means that Trichotomy is correct. What God tells us through the Bible is consistent!
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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