Isn't this a great "shroom picture? I took it one day and for some reason, I just love it. Just something wild and ugly growing in the yard! :)

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Thought I would try to play "catch up" today while it's raining. That really has nothing to do with anything, just my reasoning.

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John's picture of Christ ...

" ... one like the Son of man "

He was "manlike" in appearance. "The Son of Man" is one of the most frequent titles Jesus applied to Himself in Scripture.

" ... clothed with a garment down to the foot"

Typical of the long robes of the high priests as they ministered in the Holy Place in the Temple.

"... girded about the breasts with a golden girdle."

Symbol of strength and authority. The average working man wore a short tunic of loose fitting clothing. Only those in authority wore a girdle (or belt).

... His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow:

antiquity and the vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:9-13 ... "The Ancient of Days"

... His eyes were like a flame of fire"

Ever seen someone really angry???? Their eyes tell it all and Christ is angry at some of the things He must tell John and say to His Church.

... his feet like fine bronze

Bronze speaks of judgment. Remember the brazen (bronze) altar at the opening of the Temple of Meeting?

... his voice like the sound of many waters

Maybe something like Niagara Falls. Never been there but am told that you cannot hear over the roar of the water. Men cannot hear His voice today but they will hear it then and it will not be stilled again.

... and He had in His right hand seven stars

The seven stars are the seven angels of the church. Could be either of two things: (a) The messengers appointed by God to lead local congregations (i.e. pastors, leaders, teachers) or (b) actual angels appointed to each church. The objection to the angel theory is that if they are angels, they have failed to keep The Church pure. Even though angels are supernatural ... they are not divine.

... out of His mouth went a sharp two edged sword

Ephesians 6 refers to the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit.

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is sharper than any two edged sword. There will be no defense against the Word of God in that day of Judgment.

... His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength.

The divine nature of Christ. In Matthew 17 Peter, James and John saw Jesus in His divine glory for a brief time at the transfiguration. John's reaction to this was to fall down "as dead" at Christ's feet. This was the same John who felt close enough to Jesus to lay his head on his chest while reclining at dinner. Now he is knocked cole by the Glory of God!

Clouds?

You will never look at clouds the same way after this lesson. Or at least I don't. Main thing to remember ... CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN! It's not a fairy tale or some made up story, it's the absolutely truth!



Acts 1:11



This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.



How did He go? In a cloud (or clouds).



Acts 1:9



And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.



Look up Ezekiel 10:1-5; 18-19; 11:16-25 and read about the clouds. What are they? They are God's movement! God's very presence. So when Scripture tells us that Jesus was taken up in a cloud ... God is wrapping His very own self around His Son and taking Him Home!!!! (Can you see me jumping up and down and clapping my hands!) What a beautiful picture!



Matthew 24:30



And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming IN THE CLOUDS of heaven with power and great glory.



EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM! How is this possible. Duh, internet, CNN, ESPN, anything else satellite that we now have. Many years ago this was thought impossible that EVERY EYE could see something at one time but it's not so impossible to us!



Jesus Himself said to Caiaphas in Matthew 26:64



I say until you, "hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, coming IN THE CLOUDS of heaven.



Matthew 24:30-31



And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man COMING IN THE CLOUDS of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.



It is no wonder that God predics that "all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him."



The ones that have rejected the Christ and are eternally lost will wail.



If this book teaches nothing else, it clearly shows that JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN TO JUDGE THIS WORLD.



Read Rev 1:9-20



The early church was not given to the teaching that separated the clergy with the laity. This separation has done much harm in the churches of today. John was the oldest living apostle of our Lord at the time of this writing. Instead of calling attention to the fact that he was an apostle, he chose to identify with the people of the day. As a brother and companion in the tribulation. The tribulation that John was speaking of was that of the early church that was being persecuted. It had already claimed the lives of Peter and Paul and probably most, if not all, of the other apostles. John was possibly about 90 when this book was written. He was still refusing to stop preaching and glorifying God. Don't we all want to be that way. I want to be praising Jesus and God when I go out of this world!



v 10 refers to being "In the spirit on the Lord's Day".



Any day of the week is the Lord's Day and we can be in the spirit on any day of the week.



7 churchs of John's day were literal churches with which John was very familiar. Why might these 7 have been chosen?





7 basic divisions of church history. The study of history reveals that the Church has gone through seven basix periods or stages.



7 types of churches that exist today. Some trends are still in existence even in our own day.



7 characteristics that can exist in any church.



We can see that these 7 churches comprise 7 methods of attack by Satan on the Church or individual Christians within the Church.



Remember the 7 lampstands (The Church) ... a fitting description for The Church. Just as a lampstand does not give off a light of its own (it gets it's light from another source, whether electricity or fire, etc) likewise we do not give off our own light but that light that comes from Christ in our lives. Without Him, we have no Light.

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Wow, finding the time to do this is so difficult. As most of you know, I am a "legal flunky" for a domestic attorney here in Bowling Green. Sometimes family life of others really gets in the way of my time and my life. Always remember to pray for those getting divorces, fighting custody battles for their children and adoptions which are both wonderful and sad. I like the "wonderful" part! :) I'll try to do better