Transcription
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Revelation's first chapter, first verse: the vision which God gave to Jesus Christ to show to His servants, things which must soon take place, and He sent His angel and revealed it to His servant John. This is marked as an introduction. First, I will tell you some things.
Regarding this book of Revelation, I wish to take 26 to 30 weeks as a lesson for you. Mostly, these meetings will take place on Mondays. If perchance I have to go to out-of-town places on a Monday, then this meeting will take place on Tuesdays. Regarding that, I will inform each one of you beforehand. Monday or Tuesday, I mostly prefer it to be on Monday. This will not be like a sermon. Pausing and carefully explaining with examples to the extent that you understand, I wish to conduct it like a lesson plan.
Among the 66 books in the Bible, two books are called books with much mystery. One is the book of Daniel. The next is the book of Revelation. Daniel is a prophet in the Old Testament; he wrote it. The Apostle John was a very dear, very beloved disciple of Jesus. He was the one who leaned on Jesus Christ's chest. These two books are anointed books of God, full of mysteries, speaking about the future.
Both who wrote them are prophets. A prophet means one who walks with God and knows His mysteries; that is a prophet. A prophet means one who is God's mouth, one who foretells what is to come, one who stands between God and people, one who tells God's secrets to the people, one who attains spiritual vision, one who is called a seer, one who carries God's burden upon himself; he is the prophet. Both of these were God's prophets. Both of them revealed mysteries.
In Tamil, there are two terms. One is 'discovery'. What are the coming things? Discovering that. In discovery, there are two parts. Discovering something that already exists, something that was hidden. America already existed. It was such that no one could see it. A sailor named Columbus discovered that such a country existed and announced it to the world. It existed, but was not known publicly. He revealed that hidden thing. There is another discovery: discovering something that did not exist until now. Electricity, they discovered it. They discovered nuclear weapons. Today, scientists are continuously discovering new and new inventions every day.
But 'revelation' is different. The mysteries in the Bible, the depths in the Bible, the biblical secrets that were hidden from ancient times, to reveal and show them, that is revelation. If read ordinarily, it is not understood. God's servants sit at the Lord's feet and reveal it. Or, when believers, with the help of the Holy Spirit, ask, "Tell me, teach me," the Lord reveals those hidden things.
In ancient times, believers reading the Bible was forbidden in many churches. Servants said, "You should not read. If you read, you will not understand. If you understand, you will misunderstand. We are here for that purpose. Just as a cow grazes on grass, turns it into milk, and gives it to its calves, we will know from God's presence and reveal it to you," they would say. But this last age is not such an age. To children who are thirsty and longing, the Lord Himself directly teaches it; He is the one who reveals mysteries.
If it is Revelation, ordinarily, in ancient times, when a play was happening, during the intermission, they would put up a curtain. Behind the curtain, all the actors would hastily arrange things. They would throw a chair as if it were a table, and one person would put on a mustache and sit majestically. Once everything was ready there, they would blow a whistle. That curtain would go up or split in two, and then the actors would be revealed. Until then, the curtain was hiding them. When the appointed time came and the curtain was opened, one could see the actors behind the curtain. Similarly, future times were curtained. The past existed; that is history. The present exists; events happening daily. The future, that was hidden. The Lord intended to hide it from Satan.
Satan will pretend as if he also tells mysteries. He does not have the anointing of prophecy. But the spirit of divination is with Satan. The one who reveals to us through the spirit of prophecy, hid it so that Satan and his spirits of divination should not know it. No demonic spirit will ever tell about the future. Except for guessing and striking blindly, and telling lies, they can never tell the future.
Revelation, sometimes, politicians would have made a statue. Until a specific day comes, they would have covered and wrapped what was already made with sackcloth or cloth. They would not open it until a specific time. When a specific time comes, the president or a minister will come, hold a grand ceremony for it, and unveil it. Until then, it will remain a covered matter.
When the Lord wrote the prophetic book of Daniel, He said, "Seal this until a specific time. Let it be a mystery. Until a specific time comes, as a mystery, in the last days, people will run here and there and search." We read that in Daniel chapter 12, verse 3. Verse 4, sorry. "But you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal the book until the time of the end. Then many will run to and fro and search, and knowledge will increase," He said.
In the last days, people will desire to know the depths. When the Holy Spirit is poured out, they will strive to know God's secrets. But when the Lord revealed the book of Revelation to John, He said, "Do not seal this book, for the time is near." The one who told Daniel to seal it, told John not to seal it. He is the one who seals, and He is the one who breaks the seal. In Revelation 7:3, He said, "Seal the chosen ones from the 12 tribes." But in Revelation chapter 6, we see that the Lord Himself broke the seals of the scroll sealed with seven seals and revealed it.
He seals all of us with His blood. Ephesians 1:13 says, "When you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit." In Ephesians 4, it says, "the Holy Spirit, who is a seal for the day of redemption." Children of God, He seals you and protects you as "Mine." He seals you and separates you from the people of the world. He seals you and hedges you in, protecting you so that Satan cannot approach you.
Two books, one sealed and one unsealed. When you come into this book of Revelation, you must enter with the thought that you are entering the Most Holy Place. In the Tabernacle, there is an outer court where everyone can come. The book of Psalms, Proverbs, are books understood by everyone. There are also books like the Holy Place. The Song of Solomon is a deep song like the Holy Place. Carnal people will not understand the depth of that Song of Solomon. They will think it is some love epic, like Romeo and Juliet, or Gitanjali, a sublime, incomparable love epic, and they will leave it at that. But it is not like that. The church is like a bride, and Christ is like the bridegroom. He is like our soul's beloved. When you enter into that Song of Solomon, which is like the chosen beloved, the beautiful one, who can lean on His chest, "The ground on which you stand is holy ground," as the Lord told Moses in Exodus 3:5. Whether it is this Song of Solomon, or Daniel, or Revelation, casting aside carnal thoughts, they are understood as books to be entered hand-in-hand with the Holy Spirit.
In many books that have explained Revelation, some, like one wearing green glasses sees everything green, like one wearing red glasses sees everything red, like one with jaundice sees everything yellow, they are those who twist it to suit themselves, to confirm their own church, their church's principles, and doctrines. If there are 144,000 people, the Seventh-day Adventists will immediately say, "We are those 144,000." Jehovah's Witnesses say, "No, no, we are those 144,000." The Sri Lankan Pentecostal church says, "We are those 144,000." Not even one person more will come up there. Even before these churches started, there were saints. In the early apostolic days, there were so many saints; they reached heaven even before these churches started. Therefore, when reading Revelation, if we are ready to listen and learn the things the Lord says with an open mind, the Lord will be ready to teach it to us.
One should not look through church glasses. One should not look through their doctrinal glasses. "Holy Spirit, reveal to me. I, with an open mind, entering into this, help me to know Your secrets."
This book of Revelation is like a merchant who goes in search of a deep, precious pearl. Jesus Christ said in Matthew chapter 13, verse 44, thus: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. That treasure was not known publicly, but it was hidden. When he brings it out and sees it, he will know how precious that treasure is. To obtain that treasure, making what sacrifice, leaving all his house, land, and property, he will inherit that treasure buried in that field." Christ is that treasure. The kingdom of heaven is that treasure. Eternal joy is that treasure. All the crowns the Lord has kept for us are that treasure.
Again, the Lord compares the kingdom of heaven to a precious pearl in the sea. Why does the Lord say all this? The depths of this book of Revelation will be a precious treasure for you for all eternity. Therefore, you must be ready to make any sacrifice to take and use that treasure; that is what it means. The Lord is speaking about the value of those treasures.
This treasure, since when has it been hidden, they say? Since when has it been covered and hidden? In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 7, the Apostle Paul says, "We speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory." This mystery was hidden from the foundation of the world. In the Bible, "foundation of the world" appears in approximately more than 20 places. The Lord chose us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. We read in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus was the Lamb slain for us before the foundation of the world. We read in Ephesians 1:4 that He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in love. In Matthew chapter 25, we read that He prepared a city, a dwelling place, for us before the foundation of the world.
This Gospel of Revelation, the Lord granted and hid it before the foundation of the world. What has He hidden? When will the second coming be? He hid that before the foundation of the world. Did even Christ not know it? No one else knows it except the Father. The mystery before the foundation of the world. The reign of the Antichrist, that is a great mystery. Attaining glory upon glory at the Lord's coming, that is a great mystery. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the mid-air, that is a great mystery. Jesus coming openly with angels, reigning on this earth for a thousand years, this world being rolled up and destroyed in the final war, the Great White Throne judgment beginning, many parts of heaven being revealed eternally, many parts of hell being revealed, all these are God's great mysteries.
When the Lord called the Apostle Paul, in order to know these divine mysteries, he went alone to the Arabian lands, they say. Three years, three and a half years, to what is today Saudi Arabia. He went there and sat alone in God's presence, "Reveal to me the biblical secrets, the mysteries hidden from the beginning." The reason is that the Apostle Paul was not a disciple or an apostle of Jesus during the days Jesus died. When the disciples came to Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and asked, "What will be the sign of the end of the age and of Your coming?", Paul did not directly hear all those mysteries. At that time, he was an enemy of Christians. Afterwards, when he was caught on the Damascus road, he did not desire to go to anyone and ask for those mysteries, but desired to sit alone in God's presence and know those hidden things. Therefore, the Lord revealed 24 great mysteries in the Bible to the Apostle Paul.
When he wrote some mysteries, "This mystery is great. I am writing about Christ and His bride, the church." He called himself the steward of God's mysteries. "The Lord has entrusted me with those mysteries, He has committed those mysteries into my hand. I am the manager, the steward, of these mysteries," he said about himself.
Truly, when you turn your mind to know the mysteries of the Bible, the angel said to Daniel, "From the day you set your heart to understand the hidden things, from that day your prayers were heard." A thirst to know God's mystery, a longing to spend time for it, from the day you turned your mind for that, the Lord revealed so many mysteries to Daniel through that.
Not only to God's children, but when some Gentile people are devout and desire to know God's secrets, if the Lord reveals to them graciously and mercifully, how much more will He reveal and show to us, who are God's children?
Nebuchadnezzar was a Gentile king. One night, before going to bed, he went to bed with the thought, "What is going to happen next?" We read that in Daniel chapter 2, verse 29. "O king, as you were lying on your bed, thoughts came into your mind about what would happen in the future. Then the revealer of mysteries made known to you what is to come." In the Old Testament, through a dream, He revealed only half to him. He did not make known the meaning of the dream. In Pharaoh's days, that there would be seven years of severe famine, the ugly cows told him partially through that dream. But He did not tell the meaning of it.
Even to Gentile people, sometimes the Lord shows mysteries. But He clearly reveals it to His children.
When the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, "Now we see in a mirror dimly, we see partially. Now we don't understand anything clearly. But then, after Christ's coming, our knowledge will be an immeasurably great knowledge. Now our knowledge is confined within the brain. But after the coming, our knowledge will become a million times greater."
If we look at any saint, when was he born, how did he grow, what was his life testimony, to know fully, revelations fully, of the Bible.
Times are coming when we will know all secrets completely. Then I will see face to face. I will know just as I have been known. Now Christ reveals and shows us those mysteries. Colossians chapter two, verse three, says thus: "In Jesus Christ all treasures called wisdom and knowledge are contained." In Him alone is all knowledge, all wisdom. From that infinite wisdom, He reveals and gives a part to us. He gives the knowledge to understand that.
Among the nine gifts, two are called gifts of revelation. They are like two spiritual eyes in our inner human being. One gift is the gift of imparting knowledge, the next gift is the word revealing wisdom. This knowledge, this wisdom, is not worldly knowledge, it is not book knowledge. It is a special knowledge given to us by the Holy Spirit. To whom does the Lord reveal and give it? Firstly, He reveals it to His children who are like friends to Him. Abraham was a friend to the Lord. In Genesis 18, He said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? I will not hide it at all."
Secondly, to whom does He reveal it? "I need wisdom! I need special understanding to know Your revealed special things!" Daniel 12:10 says, "The wise will understand it, but none of the wicked will understand it. But the wise will understand it." Thirdly, to whom does He reveal it? In John 15, He makes it known to His disciples, to those who follow Him perfectly. That verse says, "I called you friends, because all that I heard from My Father I made known to you. I made known to you."
Fourthly, to whom does He reveal it? The prophet Amos said in chapter three, verse seven, "He will not do even one thing without making it known to His servants, the prophets. He will not do even one thing without making it known to His servants." That is what Revelation chapter one, verse one, says thus: "For the purpose of showing His servants the things that must soon take place, the Lord will quickly reveal to His servants the things the Lord is about to do to you." The Lord has an order, a system. What does the Lord do? He tells His angel. The angel tells John. John tells the ministers of the church. The Lord makes it known to the seven churches, to their believers. It comes through the Lord, to the angel, to John, to the church ministers, and then to everyone.
Any child of God who waits at His feet, desiring to know the secret, the Lord was pleased to graciously reveal it to him. Amen! Hallelujah! Beloved children of God, in the book of Revelation there are many symbols. Secrets about numbers are within it. Many parables are within it. Seven seals – what does that seal mean? Seven bowls of wrath, seven trumpets – many incomprehensible words come there. Because it is a mysterious book. Secrets beyond our intellect are contained within it. Therefore, did the Apostle Paul pray a prayer towards God for the Ephesian church? He said in Ephesians 1:19, "I pray that You give them enlightened eyes of the mind." By ordinary fleshly eyes, one cannot understand that. Spiritual eyes exist, faith eyes exist, revelation eyes exist. At the same time, enlightened eyes of the mind, enlightened eyes of the mind.
When Jesus was on this earth, He told approximately 34 parables. He spoke mostly with people in mysteries. They could not understand it. But His disciples came privately to the Lord and asked, "What, Lord? You spoke about the parable of the sower. What does 'seed' mean?" He said one thing: "The seed is the word of God." Right. Who is the sower in that? They are the evangelists, they are the ministers. That ground where it is sown is the human heart. Some hearts yield like 30, some hearts like 60, some hearts like 100. Some people will come to the new earth called 30. Some will come to Jerusalem called 60. Some will come to Mount Zion, who are with Jesus Christ, called 100. Outwardly, if it means 30, 60, 100, we might think it's like taking a lesson in school for an exam, where some children get 30 marks, some get 60, some get 100 out of 100. But that is a parable about the heavenly kingdom. We cannot think of it in a worldly way. Their yielding fruit is in eternity. If we want to know the depth of that fruit, the Lord expects that our eyes of the mind must be enlightened for us.
No human being, no Bible college student, no scripture scholar can explain these mysteries to us at all. Only the Spirit who wrote the Scripture can explain it to us. Read! Read First Corinthians chapter one, verse 27. "To shame the wise, God chose the foolish things of the world. To shame the strong, God chose the weak things of the world." The Lord, to shame the strong, to shame the wise, chooses the foolish and reveals the mysteries to them.
We read in Luke 10:21 that Jesus once rejoiced in spirit when He was on this earth. Why did He rejoice in spirit? Because He hid from the learned and the wise and revealed to the foolish, a great rejoicing came to Jesus. The one who takes and gives us those revelations is the Spirit. Pay attention to this verse. I am reading from First Corinthians chapter two, verse seven: "We speak God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that was hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began." Not one of the rulers of this age knew it. If they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory!
Verse ten: "But to us God revealed them by His Spirit." That Spirit knows everything, even the depths of God. "For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" Just so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who proceeds from God, in order that we might know the things graciously given to us by God. We speak these things not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Holy Spirit, showing spiritual things by comparing them with spiritual things.
Beloved children of God, the Scripture, the book of the Word, graciously given by the Spirit – every letter and part in this Scripture is a great truth given by the Holy Spirit. In John 6:63, Jesus says, "The words I speak are not ordinary; they are spirit and life." Even if printed on paper with ink in an ordinary book, within these letters there is a mystery, within these letters there is life, within these letters there is power. That is why in Hebrews 4:12, the Scripture says, "The book of the Word, the word of God, is spirit and life, and sharper than any two-edged sword." It is sharp. Spirit is there, life is there. It functions as a spiritual sword. In Ephesians 6:17, the Apostle Paul said, "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the two-edged sword." The Apostle John writes that from His mouth proceeded a two-edged sharp sword. We read that in Revelation 1:16.
Beloved children of God, what kind of treatise is this Revelation? What kind of book? How should we enter into this book? This is a book filled with the glory of Christ. In this book, we see the glory of Christ. He who appeared as the Son of Man in the Gospels, appeared as the Son of God in Revelation. He who was like a six-foot-tall man in the Gospels, in Revelation His face was like the shining sun. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like refined bronze in a furnace. From His mouth proceeded a two-edged sharp sword. He was seen as a very glorious one. He was seen very gloriously.
Today, those who write Christian songs, like cinema songs, just catch some actor, put makeup on him like Jesus Christ, and for whatever reason, portray a vile fornicator, a film person, that actor, as "This is Jesus, this is Jesus," a situation of falsely deceiving. But when we come to Revelation, we see Him as a sublime one, we see Him as a majestic one, we see Him as King of Kings, we see Him as Lord of Lords, as one who rules in all the universe. We see Him in a state where it is said, "Heaven is His throne, and the earth is His footstool." He is worthy to sit on a high and exalted throne. We see all His divinity and perfection in Revelation. No idol, no image, no picture in the world can reveal and show even a millionth part of the Lord's glory. This Revelation teaches us that the God we worship is the King of glory. Amen! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Secondly, this is a history. It did not speak only of the past. The eras of the seven churches are not the seven churches that existed in the time of the Apostle John. For these 2000 years, before the coming of the Lord, He has included the situation of all those churches within the seven churches. It tells us the history, the chronicle of the churches. Not only past history, but it is also able to foretell the coming history to us. John was not pleased to write world history. When he wrote this Revelation, he was 96 years old. He wrote this book in AD 96. In this, there are 22 chapters. 404 verses are in this. One can finish reading this in one hour and 15 minutes. In this, he did not write as a history book. It was only in his time, in AD 70, that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. He did not write about that. After that, for three years, in Jerusalem and in Rome, terrible confusion occurred, and civil commotions happened. He did not write anything about those. What he wrote is the history of Christ's bride: how the church will be prepared for the Lord's coming, how the trumpet sound will praise, how this earthly body will be transformed in a twinkling of an eye, how we will receive glory upon glory and be with Jesus in the middle air for seven years with a transformed body, and how we will descend to earth with the same transformed body and rule over those left behind during the reign of the Antichrist. He writes the entire history. This is a historical treatise.
Thirdly, this is a prophetic treatise. He says already that this is a prophetic treatise. Revelation 1:3 says thus: "Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear these prophetic words, and those who keep the things written in it." All who keep this are blessed. In Revelation alone, seven blessed ones are written about. Firstly, Revelation chapter one, verse three; chapter 14, verse 13; chapter 16, verse 15; chapter 19, verse nine; chapter 20, verse six; chapter 22, verse seven; chapter 22, verse 14. It is written about seven blessed ones. This book is a special book. That is why it is called "Revelation to John, Revelation to John." The Lord looked at us and said, "Are you not more special than a sparrow for refuge? Are you not more special than the wild flowers? Solomon in all his glory was not clothed to that extent. There the Lord clothes you with the garment of salvation and puts on you the robe of righteousness. Are you not special ones? This Revelation changes you into special ones." Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Finally, I wish to say one thing. My time is about to end. The Lord made John to be in the Spirit to reveal all these many things to him. He made him to be in the Spirit. Children of God, today we receive many experiences, but we have not yet received the experience of being in the Spirit. To be in the Spirit means leaving our body behind, and in our spiritual man, our spirit being joined with the Lord's Spirit, going to heaven and seeing things. That is the experience of being in the Spirit. When He makes some people to be in the Spirit, the Lord shows them worldly visions. In Ezekiel chapter 37, we read in verses one to six that the Lord took me to a valley full of bones. In this valley, in the open way, bones lay in abundance. A man of God named Obadiah says in First Kings 18:12 about the experience of the Lord making Elijah to be in the Spirit many times and taking him to mountains and hills and keeping him there. Similarly, when Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, the 50 prophets who were there said, "Let's go search for him. The Lord might have made him to be in the Spirit and taken him somewhere else." We see this said in Second Kings chapter two, verse 16. The experience of being in the Spirit: after Philip gave baptism to the minister of Candace's country, the Spirit just lifted him and took him away. We read that in Acts chapter eight, verse 39. We read in Revelation 1:10 that the Lord made the Apostle Paul to be in the Spirit. In chapter four, verse one, he says, "A voice like a trumpet sounded, 'Come up here!' And then I was in the Spirit." This entire Revelation, he was in the Spirit, in the Spirit, according to the vision the Lord gave. Next Sunday, I wish to speak about the secret of how we become in the Spirit. Next week, I wish to speak about how Kailash Maharishi taught Sadhu Sundar Singh the secret of being in the Spirit. I wish to speak about the experience of how the Spirit brought Sadhu Sundar Singh to a big Christian meeting happening on the beach, leaving the train coming from Delhi to Chennai. I also wish to speak about the incident where the Lord made me to be in the Spirit in my life. From next week, we will enter into this first chapter. Today, I told you all this as an introduction. Only if you understand this introduction can we enter into this truth. When you come next week, please read Revelation chapter one at least ten times and come. Then hearing those explanations will be pleasing to you.
Now I wish to pray for you. I wish to pray that the Lord may give you enlightened eyes of the mind, that He may give you gifts of revelation. The Lord who revealed mysteries to Daniel, may He give those gifts of revelation to you, the children of God who have come in this last day. May the word that imparts knowledge, which functions like spiritual eyes, and the word that teaches wisdom, operate in your lives. May the Lord give you experiences of being in the Spirit in your lives also. I wish to pray that the Spirit may help you to enlighten your eyes of the mind today.
O God, O Most High One, O Almighty One! You who gave the Spirit of adoption to call You "Abba, Father!" You who generously give bread when children ask for it! Today, because You broke and gave us the bread of the word of God, thanks be to You. Just as You revealed mysteries to Your disciples, thanks be to You for what You are going to reveal to us. O Spirit, may You lead us into the depths of the Scripture. May You bring forth for us the treasures that are mysteries hidden in the depths. May You enlighten the eyes of our minds. Now, now, now, I pray that Your anointing may descend upon each one. I pray that Your power may descend. Just as You revealed to the Apostle John, I pray that You may reveal to each one of us. May You help each one to rise and shine. In this last time, help each one of us to do glorious things for You. If anyone has come with sickness or weakness, heal them, O Lord. May You place Your hands with scars upon them. Let Your children live until Your coming. I pray that You may give good health, strength, and well-being to each one until we all meet You at Your coming. May You bless each one's work. May You bless their profession. May You bless their business. O Lord, let Your joy be in these families, let peace be. May my Lord descend and walk about in every home. In the night times, may You speak with Your children through dreams and through visions. Let heaven be open towards them all night. May Your garments cover them, O Lord. I pray that You may give gifts of unknown tongues and help Your children to always speak in unknown tongues and prepare for Your coming. Further sanctify them, further fill them with the Spirit of prayer. Let the anointing oil be poured upon each one to rise and shine. Through Jesus, Father. [Music]